China's largest oil tanker delivered in Guangzhou

2010-01-23

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20100123/0013729e42ea0cc4984b44.jpg
Xin Pu Yang, the most sophisticated supertanker ever designed and built by a Chinese shipyard, docks at Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, January 22, 2010. The ship was delivered to its buyer China Shipping(Croup) Company on Friday at Nansha port in Guangzhou. It marks a milestone that the tonnage of China's oil tanks finally breaks through 300,000 tons.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20100123/0013729e42ea0cc4985945.jpg
A photo taken on January 22, 2010 shows Xin Pu Yang, the most sophisticated supertanker ever designed and built by a Chinese shipyard at Nansha port, Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong province.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20100123/0013729e42ea0cc4986546.jpg

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/images/attachement/jpg/site1/20100123/0013729e42ea0cc4987047.jpg

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2010-01/23/content_9366573_4.htm

^^

Wow! :cheers:

China to conquer Sicily

http://i49.tinypic.com/az5tl.jpg

January 23, 2010
"A flight Shanghai-Rome and the possibility of opening an air link between China and Catania. Investments in Sicily in the tourism industry and the port of Augusta." China is near. The official notice of the Regional Government informed that a delegation from Sicily went to China to reciprocate the visit the leaders of the HNA, giant Chinese transport and tourism, made in March last year in Sicily. The Chinese delegation also made stage in the port of Augusta. Since then it has been almost a year and have not seen anything new in the black. At the same time and far the only company (Italian-Japanese-American) who had shown some interest in the airport augusta. We return to the Sicilian delegation to China. According to the official account are different and interesting points of the agreement: "Creation of an international airport in the plain of Gerbini between Enna and Catania in the field of cultural cooperation, joint-venture for the production of yachts on the island of Hainan; Request for authorization for the area for the transhipment in the commercial port of Augusta. These, in a nutshell, the results of the mission carried out in recent days.
"The relationship with China - said the president of the Region, Raffaele Lombardo - will not be good to Sicily. Today, the giant Chinese is the economic locomotive of the world. The direct relationship with the Chinese market may represent a turning point for our economy . they are welcome, then, investments of this great country in Sicily. An individual who invests some time calls. The regional government will do everything to facilitate the implementation of these projects quickly. "
The "time certain" policy Sicilian would be discussed very much.
"The international airport - as reported by the delegation - should see the light in the plane of Gerbino. It involves the construction of a terminal and a runway of 3 kilometers. The new airport should be operated by the Sac, the company is already operating Catania Fontanarossa. The chapter relating to the "Port Augusta" seems somewhat diminished. For years we talked about and hoped for an unlikely central geographical position which can place the port of Augusta in a privileged position compared to the most important directions of traffic. Even in those days was given to read: "In the plan HNE, then, the port of Augusta will be the focus of the global trading system which will be subservient to the economy of China ...."

"The group, as before stated, will ask only the authorization for the area for the transhipment, 300 meters of quay and 300 thousand square meters for the storage area. A request liar honest than the chimera of the port hub from time to time be deployed by some hireling press only capable of conveying a lie. "The regional government also - says the official note - HNA Group will provide the necessary support for the evaluation of initiatives to be undertaken in the field of cultural property in coinciding with the World Expo in Shanghai scheduled for next May. "The agreement signed between Sicily and HNA Group - concluded the note - it includes the possibility of working in the field of recreational boating, a sector in which Italy can count on professionalism appreciated throughout the world. The holding company of China and our company, which will be identified by the delegation of Sicily, should set up a joint venture for the production of yachts on the island of Hainan. "Given that the agreement between China and the Region of Sicily to handle the port of Augusta is something that is almost done and that the Russian Lukoil already owns 49% of the ISAB refinery, which seems to emerge clearly, at these latitudes, lead the way for the foreseeable future will be more and more Chinese, Russian, .... and then ... . Our business, asphyxiated and short of capital, will be swept away. Globalization. One question remains, will also replace the main industry Sicilian ????. One thing is sure that riussi and Chinese are also competitive in that field .

:cheers1:

http://marittimipozzallo.blogspot.com/2010/01/la-cina-alla-conquista-della-sicilia.html

Chinese shipbuilders grab bigger market share amid crisis
26 January 2010
Copyright 2010 China Daily Information Company. All Rights Reserved.

Thanks to cheap labor and technological innovation, major Chinese shipbuilders have survived the financial crisis which led to a dearth of orders in 2009.

Figures from a top shipping research company showed China has overtaken the Republic of Korea (ROK) as the world's largest shipbuilding nation as Chinese shipbuilders outpaced ROK competitors in both new orders and orders in hand.

Statistics released on January 12 by the London-based Clarkson PLC, the world's leading shipping service provider, showed that only 28.8 million deadweight tonnages (DWT) of ships were ordered globally from January to November in 2009. In 2007, the peak of the shipping boom, new ship orders totaled 272 million DWTs.

However, China's share of the diminishing market has grown significantly since 2009.

On Sunday, China's largest self-developed oil tanker left its home of 22 months in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong province, and began its maiden trip to Saudi Arabia.

The 333-meter-long, 60-meter-wide oil Xinpuyang can carry up to 308,000 tons of crude oil, and hit a speed of 15.7 knots (equal to 30 km per hour).

Equipped with satellite navigation, radar and monitoring alarm systems, the supertanker has a crew of 24.

Chen Liping, manager of the builder, the Longxue Shipyard, said that Longxue would be building another three highly-automated tankers for China Shipping (Group) Company.

Chen said the supertanker marked a big step forward in technological innovation and high value-added production by Longxue Shipyard and its owner China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).

The Shanghai-based CSSC, whose turf is mainly in eastern and southern China, is one of China's two leading State-owned shipbuilders.

Also Sunday, the other leading State-owned shipbuilder, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), said profits in 2009 jumped 18.5 percent to 7.39 billion yuan ($1.1 billion).

The Beijing-based conglomerate, whose shipyards are mainly in northern China, said operating incomes rose 17 percent to 120.9 billion yuan.

Innovation key to growth

CSIC General manager, Li Changyin, said the CSIC had minimized the impact of the global financial crisis, which crippled the global sea-based trade and slashed demand for ships, through technological innovation.

"The worse the (economic) downturn is, the more important the technological innovation is," Li said.

With innovation and improved design, CSIC shipyards were able to develop new products, including 180,000-DWT bulk carriers, 320,000-DWT oil tankers, 13,000-TEU containers as well as new types of drilling platforms that could be used in waters up to 400 feet (120 meters), said Li.

Li said the CSIC profit target for 2010 was 8 billion yuan. The operating income was expected to surpass 140 billion yuan and CSIC output in 2010 was likely to break 10 million DWTs.

Tan Zuojun, CSSC general manager, said that CSSC had invested more than 1.64 billion yuan into research and development in 2009 and stepped up efforts to develop high value-added ships.

Tan said technological innovation had significantly contributed to CSSC's successes in the global fight for orders.

For instance, the application of the latest version of a self-developed 3D ship product design system since last August at CSSC's Hudong Shipyard had helped boost coordination and integration between ship design institutes and shipbuilding entities, according to Tan.

The CSSC delivered 170 ships in 2009, he said. Its completed output last year broke the 10-million mark for the first time to reach 10.8 million DWTs, an increase of 27 percent from a year earlier.

CSSC's global market share stood at 9.1 percent, making it the world's second largest shipbuilder in terms of DWT, after Hyundai Heavy Industries of the Republic of Korea, he said.

Tan said technological innovation had also played a decisive role in helping China narrow gap with the ROK and Japan at both fronts of ship design capability and shipbuilding efficiency.

Without innovation, the CSSC would not have been capable of designing and building state-of-the-art LNG carriers in the last two years, he said.

Largest shipbuilding nation

Figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed combined delivery by China's shipbuilders jumped 47 percent last year to 42.4 million DWTs, 34.8 percent of the world's total.

That represented an increase of 5.3 percentage points in global market share from 2008.

China's shipbuilders received 26 million DWTs of new orders last year, down 55 percent from a year earlier, according to MIIT figures.

But MIIT figures showed China took 61.6 percent of new orders worldwide in 2009, much higher than that of the ROK, which is home to seven of the world's top 10 shipbuilders.

For the first time, China overtook the ROK as world's largest shipbuilding nation in new orders, measured by both DWT and compensated gross tonnes (CGT). CGT is normally used in the shipbuilding industry for international comparison since it contains added value.

According to Clarkson PLC, ROK shipbuilders won a total 3.15 million CGTs in new orders last year, which accounted for 40.1 percent of all new global orders.

Chinese shipbuilders seized 3.49 CGTs in 2009, accounting for 44.4 percent of the world's total.

On the order backlog, the ROK shipbuilders had a total of 52.83 CGTs as of early this month, while the Chinese rivals had 53.22 million CGTs, according to Clarkson.

Chinese officials and industry analysts had played down the position change. They said China was likely to drop from the top position when the world trade recovered and ship orders rose.

Chinese shipbuilders outpaced ROK competitors in both new orders and order backlogs, but in terms of comprehensive competitiveness, the ROK was still ahead of China, Tan said.

Chinese shipbuilders fell far behind their ROK competitors in design and building capacities of high-tech and high value-added ships, such as the LNG carriers, Tan added.

Global market share of Chinese-built high value-added ships was just around 10 percent by December of 2009, he said.

VOLUME RECORD IN THE PORT OF CHINA FUZHOU

http://i48.tinypic.com/u4ga8.jpg

February 12, 2010
The Chinese port of Fuzhou closed the month of January with the handling of 4.1 million tonnes of cargo, a new historical record for the airport, which received an increase of 58% over the same month last year. Container handling grew by 33.6% to 113,400 teus, of which 56,500 teus (+47%) to the Fuzhou International Container Terminal. Container handling last year was about 500,000 teus.

Source: Chamber of Labor in Pozzallo
Photo: http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo-955007-HANJIN+FUZHOU

NEW SERVICE BETWEEN CHINA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN NORASIA CSAV

http://i48.tinypic.com/20p9b47.jpg

February 12, 2010
On 18 March CSAV Norasia of Hong Kong will launch a new weekly service between China and the western Mediterranean, with the use of ten container from about 5,000 teus. The rotation of the new link, called Mare Nostrum Service (MNS), will Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Port Kelang, Malta, Genoa, Fos, Barcelona, Valencia, Malta, Jeddah, Port Kelang and again Xingang.

Source: Chamber of Labor in Pozzallo

GRI Transatlantic MAERSK LINE

http://i47.tinypic.com/s4xizk.jpg

February 2010
With effect from 1 April, Maersk Line will apply a General Rate Increase (GRI) on transatlantic routes. The increase for shipments between Europe and the Mediterranean and the United States and Canada in both directions will be $ 400 per container 20 'and $ 500 per container 40', which is dry reefer.

Source: Chamber of Labor Pozzallo

Photo: http://www.shipphotos.co.uk/pages/maerskalgeciras.htm

China sees growth in shipbuilding industry

26 Jan 2010

Jan. 27, 2010 (China Knowledge) - Despite the world economic crisis, China’s shipbuilding industry grew rapidly last year, as reflected in all the relevant statistics for 2009.

The gross output value of shipbuilders above the designated size was RMB 548.4 billion, up 28.7% year on year. The export value of ships and related products was US$28.36 billion, up 44.9%, and import value rose 92.5% to US$ 2.48 billion.

Reportedly, China saw ship completions increase 47% to 42.43 million dead weight tons last year. Sea ships accounted for 40.02 million DWT. New ship orders were 26 million DWT, down 55% year on year. Booked orders were 188.17 million DWT, down 8%. China's ship completions, new ship orders and booked orders accounted for 34.8%, 61.6% and 38.5% of the world's totals, respectively.

China has supplanted South Korea as the biggest ship producer in the world.

http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/business-in-china/100239518-1-china-sees-growth-shipbuilding-industry.html

At the same time and far the only company (Italian-Japanese-American) who had shown some interest in the airport augusta.

"The relationship with China - said the president of the Region, Raffaele Lombardo - will not be good to Sicily. Today, the giant Chinese is the economic locomotive of the world. The direct relationship with the Chinese market may represent a turning point for our economy . they are welcome, then, investments of this great country in Sicily. An individual who invests some time calls.

which seems to emerge clearly, at these latitudes, lead the way for the foreseeable future will be more and more Chinese, Russian, .... and then ... . Our business, asphyxiated and short of capital, will be swept away. Globalization.
:cheers1:

On 18 March CSAV Norasia of Hong Kong will launch a new weekly service between China and the western Mediterranean, with the use of ten container from about 5,000 teus. :lol: My suggestion to you, unless you want to put up a comedy show in these forums, is to learn some english and/or logic. As they are now, your posts only create confusion. Something we are masters at in Italy, btw. Also, your post n. 257 should go in the European shipping news. Also, your signature doesn't bode well for you. Also... oh, never mind.

In January +17% HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE +18%

http://i49.tinypic.com/2e37fyd.jpg

February 22, 2010
The resumption of traffic from China is demonstrated by the data in January of the ports of Hong Kong and Singapore. Handling containers in Hong Kong was 1.8 million teus, 17% more than the same month last year, while in Singapore on-year growth was 18% with 2.3 million teus.

Source: Chamber of Labor in Pozzallo

Photo: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/38/77913310_42919ab2a5.jpg

:lol: My suggestion to you, unless you want to put up a comedy show in these forums, is to learn some english and/or logic. As they are now, your posts only create confusion. Something we are masters at in Italy, btw. Also, your post n. 257 should go in the European shipping news. Also, your signature doesn't bode well for you. Also... oh, never mind.

O.T.

I use the Google translator to do before.

And then there's you that I should give lessons, especially in logic, in this thread.

+23% SHANGHAI, HONG KONG +20% +25% ST.PETERSBURG, LOS ANGELES +31%

[IMG] http://i39.tinypic.com/29g1ukn.jpg [/ IMG]

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
In February the Port of Shanghai handled 1.88 million teus of the 23% increase over the same month last year. On 5 February was set a new daily record, with 102,123 teus. In the first two months the movement was of 4.12 million teus, an increase of 20% on an annual basis.
In February the Hong Kong port has handled 1,614,000 teus, 20% more than the same month last year. In the first two months the movement was 3,502,000 teus, an increase of 18.4% on-year%.
In the first two months of the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, has handled 156,200 teus, 25% more than the same period last year. A Novorossiysk handling NUTEP container terminal, operated by National Container Co., has grown by 35% to 28,200 teus.
In February the Port of Los Angeles has recorded a volume growth of 33% over the same month last year. In particular, exports grew by 33% to 147,926 teus. The import increased by 30% to 267,361 teus.

Source: Chamber of Labor in Pozzallo

:applause: :applause:

Is it always foggy in China?
Seriously, almost all pictures from China are foggy. :)

Export is back on truck...

http://china.globaltimes.cn/diplomacy/2010-03/511351.html

China gains Sea of Japan trade access

* Source: Global Times
* [02:11 March 10 2010]
* Comments

By Kang Juan

China has finally found a direct trade outlet to the Sea of Japan by making an agreement to lease a pier at North Korea's Rajin Port for at least 10 years. It is the country's first access to the maritime space in its northeast since it was blocked over a century ago.

North Korea's willingness to lease China a pier at the port, as well as ono for Russia, has brought speculation that the country will further open up to the outside world.

According to Li Longxi, head of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China's northeastern Jilin Province, a private company in China had obtained the right to use Pier No. 1 at Rajin Port for 10 years, and its infrastructure renovation is currently underway.

"We can carry out cross-border transportation through the Rajin Port and ship coal from Yanbian to Southeast China via the Sea of Japan," Li told the China News Agency on Sunday. "It pays in terms of transportation efficiency and cost."

Statistics showed that, Rajin Port, which does not freeze over in winter, includes three wharfs in use, covers 380,000 square meters and has a freight transit capacity of 4 million tons. It became a free trade port when Rajin-Sonbong City was declared a free trade zone in 1991, the first in the North. The zone was later renamed Raseon.

According to a statement on the Yanbian authority's website last month, the Ch-uangli Group, based in Dalian, Liaoning Province, invested 26 million yuan in 2009 to rebuild Pier No. 1 and construct a 40,000-square-meter warehouse at Rajin Port.

The North's opening of the port is significant for China as it will provide direct access to the Pacific, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday.

China lost access to the Sea of Japan in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty when it was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties following skirmishes with Russia and Japan in the region. The provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang have been landlocked ever since.

In fact, the southeast border of Jilin is only 15 kilometers from the mouth of the Tumen River, with access to the Sea of Japan blocked by Russia and North Korea.

"Theoretically, Chinese ships have the right to enter the Sea of Japan through the Tumen River, based on an agreement with Russia, but a railway bridge between Russia and North Korea blocked that entrance to the sea," Lü Chao, a researcher of North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, said.

Yang Bojiang, an expert on Northeast Asia issues at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the lack of ports to the Sea of Japan has restricted the development of the three northeastern provinces, Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, which are abundant in resources.

"Rajin port will become a logistics hub and a bridgehead of international routes for the area, especially for Jilin, which is at the center of northeast Asia," Yang said.

Freight in Hunchun city in Yanbian is usually transported to Dandong Port or Dalian Port in Liaoning Province before being exported to Japan, which takes three to four days. But if it goes via Rajin Port, which is only 48 kilometers from Hunchun, it will take just over 10 hours to reach Japan's Niigata Port, according to Xia Kejun, a trade manager in Hunchun.

The deal underlines the Chinese government's desire to develop the Northeast as an important trade route into Russia, Korea and Japan, according to 2point6billion.com, a Hong Kong-based news forum.

Lü, however, warned that a 50-kilometer-road linking the China-North Korea border with the Rajin port in North Korean territory remains in poor condition, which limits the access to and use of the port.

"The designed freight transit capacity is huge, but the actual volume remains low," Lü said, adding that the port could become fully operational only after facilities are improved.

He noted that the port deal is not a strategic plan for national security, but only for regional economy.

North Korea also gave Russia the right to use Rajin Port for 50 years, which will serve as an export path for Siberian crude oil and natural gas to neighboring counties, the Korea Herald reported Tuesday.

The North is also planning to fully open the city of Raseon, upgraded into a "special municipality" recently, to foreign businesses within six months, Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun said Monday.

South Korean officials were quoted by Yonhap as saying Tuesday that the South is keeping a close watch over North Korea's efforts, as the move might indicate that Pyongyang is opening up to the outside world and may be a signal that it intends to return to stalled international nuclear talks.

Yang Bojiang believes the cooperation agreement, including transit trade and logistics, will be conducive to overall stability in Northeast Asia.

"Increasing inter-dependence among countries through intensified economic and trade cooperation will help to resolve regional security issues," Yang said.

In another development, the construction of a new bridge linking Dandong of China and Sinuiju of North Korea across the Yalu River is expected to begin in October, a year after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to the project during his visit to the North, according to Zhao Liansheng, mayor of Dandong, Liaoning Province.

Dandong is the point where 70 percent of trade between China and North Korea passes, but the existing bridge, which was built in 1937, is dilapidated.

Qiu Wei contributed to this story

China container sea rates up 17 pct this year

HONG KONG, Feb 26 (Reuters) - China's container shipping freight rates have risen 17 percent this year, approaching 2008 highs, as global trade continues to recover from depressed levels in 2009, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange said on Friday.

The China Containerized Freight Index (CCFI), which takes data from most of the leading liners with operations in China, hit 1,168.31 points for the week ended Feb 26, the exchange said in its Website.

The index has gained about 4 percent from Feb 12. Last February it was as high as 1,200 points and its record high was 1,255 points set in October 2004. The index was started in 1998.

A spike in demand for goods made in China at the end of last year helped container ports in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Shenzhen shrug off months of decline to return to growth in December.

"Freight rates were boosted by a cargo rush before the Chinese New Year but the market now is generally quiet with mainland workers not fully returning to work after the holiday," said Sunny Ho, executive director of the Hong Kong Shippers Council that represents importers and exporters.

China, on track to pass Germany to become the world's largest exporter this year, saw its exports reverse course to rise 17.7 percent in December and 21 percent in January after being battered by the global financial crisis for most of last year.

The CCFI has risen 17 percent this year and analysts say carriers are trying to push through more rate hikes after they idled some of their capacity and implemented slow steaming to minimise the impact of oversupply.

Nomura recently upgraded its rating for the Asian container shipping sector to neutral from bearish after the year got off to a better than expected start and loss-making trans-Pacific routes began seeing signs of recovery, it said in a research report.

Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), a unit of Orient Overseas (International) Ltd , has said it will impose a general rate increase, a restoration rate programme and a peak season surcharge in various routes within the next two months.

"The rate increases may help container ship operators to return to profit in the second half," said Gideon Lo, an analyst at DBS Vickers.

About 75 percent of container freight rates for trans-Pacific routes are under contracts that probably would not be subject to the increase in spot rates until the contracts expire, usually in May, analysts said.

Industry watchers noted a shortage of supply in container boxes in China after the market underestimated demand, which dropped about 90 percent in 2009. The slow steaming of ships also delayed the turnaround time of boxes.

"The leasing fee for container boxes posted a high single digit increase in January and February from the same period last year," an industry source said.

Last month, container throughput in major Chinese container ports rose sharply after returning to growth in December.

Shanghai, the world's second busiest container port after Singapore, handled 17.9 percent more container boxes, Shenzhen's throughput rose 16.14 percent and Hong Kong was up 17.1 percent, partly helped by low comparision base a year earlier.

:lol: My suggestion to you, unless you want to put up a comedy show in these forums, is to learn some english and/or logic. As they are now, your posts only create confusion. Something we are masters at in Italy, btw. Also, your post n. 257 should go in the European shipping news. Also, your signature doesn't bode well for you. Also... oh, never mind.

My suggestion to you is to speak for yourself and the ineducated person you are.

Chinese ship aground on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Serious threat to the ecosystem.


http://i40.tinypic.com/2psitc5.jpg

April 4, 2010 - Easter

A Chinese ship, the Sheng Neng I ran aground on Australian Great Barrier Reef, AA about 70 miles east of Great Keppel Island, ecological paradise on the northeast coast of Queensland state off the city of Rockhampton.
The ship carrying 65,000 tons of coal loaded at the port of Gladstone and has 950 tons of oil aboard.
So far, the loss at sea was low, but according to Australian authorities the ship, Sheng Neng The 230 meters long, is leaking fuel and run the risk of breaking in two. A board has 950 tonnes of fuel. In this case the fragile ecosystem of the area in danger of devastation. The state premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, said the ship is in poor condition and poses a threat to the reef.
"The situation is serious because there is a distinct possibility that can break" - said the premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh - "We are making every effort to limit the impact of this incident on the Great Barrier Reef. An initial inspection found that air at present the oil spill at sea is limited to certain patches of limited size that were observed at approximately four kilometers from Sheng Nen I. The Great Barrier Reef is an Australian ecosystems most at risk of the planet. Environmental groups have long argued, unheeded, that link should be made compulsory in the area aboard the presence of a driver (local practice) stating without hesitation on the route the ships forced to navigate through the numerous shoals surfacing. "If the load end up at sea, the local ecosystem would be devastated," said Ian Herbert, vice president of the Council for the Conservation of Nature, stating that "some coral species around the islands in that area are very special." A spokesman of the 'Australian Maritime Safety Agency said that a specialist firm for rescue at sea, the Svitzer has already been contacted by shipowners Chinese Sheng Nen I.

Liaoning ports up 20 per cent despite worst winter ice in 30 years
6 April 2010

Liaodong Bay on the Yellow Sea posted a 20 per cent year on year increase in cargo volume to more than 100 million tonnes in the first two months of the year despite a sea ice disaster not experienced in 30 years, reports Xinhua.

Five ports of Dalian, Yingkou, Dandong, Jingzhou and Huludao together posted a throughput of 54.5 million tonnes in January, up 22.7 per cent year on year. While in February, grew 31.9 per cent over same period last year to 49.2 million tonnes.

http://www.hktdc.com/info/mi/a/spgz/en/1X06QJ4B/1/Shipping-Gazette/Liaoning-Ports-Up-20-Per-Cent-Despite-Worst-Winter-Ice-In-30-Years.htm

My suggestion to you is to speak for yourself and the ineducated person you are.Who are you? Who are you speaking to? Get off me and mind your own business. Only because a guy is a macaroni like you, doesn't mean you should defend his indefensible posts, lacking both in grammatics and logic - but then a macaroni has a peculiar logic, so possibly you may not have noticed that.

CONTAINER, CONTINUING CONTINUING BETWEEN ASIA AND EUROPE
May 7, 2010

According to figures released by the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA) in the first quarter of the container traffic between Asia and Europe grew 22% year on year, with 3.1 million teus. The biggest increase has occurred in February (+52% to just over 1 million teus), while in March, growth was only 10.5%, with 950,000 teus.

Source: Chamber of Labour Pozzallo

April figures

HK April up 11pc to 1.9 million TEU, Singapore rises 9.9pc
19 May 2010

Figures from the Hong Kong Marine Department show the port handled 1.9 million TEU in April, an increase of 10.8 per cent over the 1.7 million in April of last year.

Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority reported an 11.3 per cent increase in container movement in April, having handled 2.3 million TEU compared to 2.1 million TEU in April of last year.

http://www.hktdc.com/info/mi/a/spgz/en/1X06U1BM/1/Shipping-Gazette/HK-April-Up-11pc-To-1-9-Million-TEU-Singapore-Rises-9-9pc.htm

Shandong provincial port volume up 22pc, boxes rise 8.8pc
18 May 2010

PORTS in east China's Shandong province posted a robust growth in the first quarter, reports Xinhua.

Growth was driven by foreign trade in ore, coal, steel, oil and petroleum products. The province's coastal ports moved 201 million tonnes of cargo, up a 22 per cent year on year, while river ports handled 13.4 million tonnes, a 64.8 per cent increase.

Provincial coastal port throughput grew 8.8 per cent to 3.39 million TEU, or 125.4 million tonnes, up 33.3 per cent. Shandong's three largest ports including Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai handled 178 million tonnes of cargo, accounting for 88.4 per cent of the total.

http://www.hktdc.com/info/mi/a/spgz/en/1X06UFJ8/1/Shipping-Gazette/Shandong-Provincial-Port-Volume-Up-22pc-Boxes-Rise-8-8pc.htm

Shanghai Int'l Port's cargo throughput up 17.55% in Apr

May 18, 2010 (China Knowledge) - Shanghai International Port Group Co<600018>, the operator of Shanghai Port, the world’s largest port by cargo throughput and the world's second-largest port by container throughput, announced that its cargo throughput rose 17.55% year on year to 35.53 million tons in April. The company said in a statement that its container throughput increased 20.99% year

http://www.chinaknowledge.com/Newswires/News_Detail.aspx?type=1&cat=CMP&NewsID=%2033795

SHANGHAI, CONTAINER +17%
May 2010

In the first four months of the port of Shanghai handled 8.9 million teus, 17% more than 7.6 million teus in the same period last year. During the other major Chinese ports handled a total of 2.4 billion tons of freight, an increase on an annual basis by approximately 20%. Ports for handling international ocean was 1.7 billion tons (+17%). Container traffic with foreign countries grew by 22.1% to 39.4 million Teus.

Source: Chamber of Labour of Pozzallo

:applause:

From Chinese article:

Ningbo-Zhoushan's April throughput is 53,066,000 tons, compared to Shanghai's April figure of 51,500,000 tons.

http://finance.qq.com/a/20100522/000436.htm

^^ Interesting, and we thought Shanghai's reign as the number one port was going to be long...

^^ Tianjin will dwarf all of them once the multi phase port extension is completed I bet.

Chinese container ports, established new monthly record of handling
June 22, 2010

In May, the Chinese container ports have set a new monthly record in container handling, with 12.4 million teus. For the second consecutive month, the port of Shanghai has overtaken that of Singapore, putting a serious chance to become a mortgage on a year-end the first container port worldwide. Last year, Shanghai had handled 25 million against 25.9 million teus teus Singapore. The performance of Chinese ports was mainly caused by strong export growth, grew in value by 48% over the same month last year. Six major Chinese ports have established new highs

^^ Tianjin will dwarf all of them once the multi phase port extension is completed I bet.

^^ The planned infrastructure is impressive. Its obviously freakin' huge!

However, where on Earth would it get enough cargo throughput to surpass either Shanghai or Ningbo-Zhoushan? I mean, the Bohai Bay economic area isn't as big a manufacturing hub as both the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. Furthermore, Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan are more strategically located than Tianjin (they're situated near the mouth of the world's busiest river--the Yangtze).

Shanghai Port H1 net profit up 50 pct y/y

SHANGHAI, July 7 (Reuters) - Shanghai International Port , China's biggest port operator, said first half net profit rose 50 percent from a year ago as it handled more cargoes following a recovery in global trade.

Shanghai Port's first half net profit rose to about 2.57 billion yuan ($379 million), compared to 1.71 billion yuan in the year-ago period, based on Reuters calculations.

"As external trade conditions improved during the period under review, trade volume also improved significantly," Shanghai Port said in a statement on Wednesday.

The improved results were also due to cost control measures, Shanghai Port said, without providing further financial details for the period.

In April, Shanghai Port posted a net profit of 1.023 billion yuan for the first quarter.

($1=6.780 Yuan)

Lianyungang could become the 11th Chinese port to enter the "world's top 20 port list" by the end of this year. The port made an IPO in 2007. :)

Lianyungang port's throughput hit record high in May

East China's Lianyungang port registered a 22 per cent growth in throughput to 11.8 million tonnes in May, hitting a monthly record high, reports Xinhua.

The port's throughput of foreign trade cargo increased 17.6 per cent to 6.63 million tonnes in May. In the first five months, the port's total throughput grew 18.7 per cent to 55.89 million tonnes. The growth was boosted by main cargo source like iron ore, non-ferrous metal minerals, dry cassava, coal and plywood.

http://www.hktdc.com/info/vp/a/tl/en/1/2/1/1X06ZCDN/Transport---Logistics/Lianyungang-port-s-throughput-hit-record-high-in-May-.htm

Shanghai is going to surpass 600 million tons by the end of this year.

Shanghai expected to exceed 25.5 million TEU annual target

Port of Shanghai recorded a container throughput of 11.4 million TEU from January to May, up 18 per cent year on year, slightly surpassing the volume recorded in the same period in 2008 before downturn.

The port's throughput is expected to be able to exceed the earlier prediction of 25.5 million TEU by the end of this year, Xinhua reported.

Shanghai's throughput has carried a strong growth during this year thanks to the rapid increase in trade. During the first four months, Shanghai handled 208 million tonnes of cargo, up 21 per cent year on year. The port can do better than expected if it continues this growth throughout the year.

http://www.hktdc.com/info/mi/a/spgz/en/1X06ZMRF/1/Shipping-Gazette/Shanghai-Expected-To-Exceed-25-5-Million-TEU-Annual-Target.htm

TWO MONTHS OF BENDING OF CONTAINER VOLUMES BETWEEN EUROPE AND ASIA
July 2010


In April and May 2010 the container volume between Europe and Asia have declined, respectively, 1, 1% and 6.3% compared to the same month last year. The balance of the first six months remains positive, with an increase in shipments from Europe to Asia by 7%.

Source: Chamber of Labour of Pozzallo

Manzhouli, China’s Gateway to Russia and Eastern Europe

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

May 26 – Manzhouli is not a port that readily springs to mind when discussing China’s imports and exports, but it is the gateway through which an astonishing 60 percent of all of China’s trade to and from Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe pass. It is by far China’s largest inland port of entry, and borders Russia and Mongolia, earning it a unique status as a tri-country region.

Manzhouli borders the Russian city of Zabaykalsk with a free trade zone that allows residents from both sides to cross visa free. The area also includes an economic processing zone, while the local government has adopted a series of policies to boost border trade since the city was designated as an international port of entry in 1992. Manzhouli’s trade has shifted from waste steel, chemical fertilizers, fruit, vegetables and garments to timber, petroleum and technology. The growing industries in the city are repackaging, warehousing, goods consolidation, and distribution. The port is also home to over 200 import and export companies.
China Briefing readers are invited to participate in a UNDP sponsored event and investment workshop in Manzhouli on the 14th-15th of June. Organized through the offices of the Greater Tumen Initiative, the UNDP body responsible for China, Russia, Mongolia and Korea, an introduction to the investment environment of the border area (China, Russia and Mongolia) will be made by the local governments and a match-making session between attendees and local companies will be provided. A technical and tourism related tour will also be part of the agenda. The event will be of particular interest to businesses involved in, or wishing to learn about, opportunities in export processing between China, Russia and Mongolia, and getting access to markets in Eastern Europe from China.

http://www.absolutechinatours.com/UploadFiles/ImageBase/Typical%20Manzhouli%20street%20scene.JPG
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/%D0%93.%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8C%D1%87%D0%B6%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%28%D0%9A%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B9%29.JPG/800px-%D0%93.%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8C%D1%87%D0%B6%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%28%D0%9A%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B9%29.JPG

China overtakes South Korea to become world's top shipbuilder

Source: Global Times [19:00 July 19 2010] Comments

In the first half of the year, China overtook South Korea to become the world's largest shipbuilder in terms of three major industry indicators, including new orders, order backlogs and delivery. That's according to a report released Sunday by Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a London-based market research firm.
This is the first time since 2003 – the year it overtook Japan - that South Korea fails to secure the highest rank.
According to the data, Korean shipbuilders' deliveries in the first half of this year amounted to 7.48 million gross tons (CGTs), and Chinese shipbuilders' deliveries reached 8.01 million CGTs.
Also, in the first half of this year Korean shipbuilders received new orders of 4.62 million CGTs, making up 38 percent of the global market share, while China's new orders amounted to 5.02 million CGTs, or 41.2 percent market share.
In terms of order backlogs, China stood at 53 million CGTs, exceeding South Korea's 49 million CGTs.
Last year, China overtook South Korea in terms of new orders and order backlogs, and South Korea has now lost its leading role in terms of delivery.
The report said that in 2009, when the global shipbuilding industry stagnated due to the financial crisis, China's shipbuilding industry made advances due to government support. And this year, the orders from China's shipping firms have consolidated the shipbuilding industry's top position.
"The Chinese government has said that its shipbuilding industry would overtake that of South Korea by 2015. They have now done so five years ahead of schedule," a South Korean industry analyst said. The analyst added that China could also take over the top spot at the end of the year.

http://business.globaltimes.cn/industries/2010-07/553517.html

TIANJIN PORT EYES BIG EXPANSIONS
14 September 2010
China Daily

TIANJIN - Tianjin Port's total cargo throughput is expected to reach 400 million tons - including 10 million containers - this year, up from 380 million tons in 2009, said Yu Rumin, chairman of Tianjin Port (Group) Co Ltd.

The port is also considering an investment of 13.2 billion yuan ($1.95 billion) in the construction of new ports and other infrastructure projects, he said at the Summer Davos Forum in Tianjin on Monday.

Tianjin Port, located in Tianjin's Binhai New Area, is the third-largest port in China, and the world's fifth-largest.

According to Yu, the State Council has a blueprint to make Tianjin Binhai New Area an international shipping center and logistics center.

"The port should be built into one like Rotterdam or Antwerp, with a port hinterland, a large stock of goods for transportation, plenty of ships passing through it and a great many shipping enterprises registered there," he said.

"Tianjin Port's total cargo throughput exceeded 230 million tons, including more than 5.6 million containers, from January to July this year," said Yu.

"We are confident of achieving this year's target (400 million tons of total cargo throughput, including 10 million containers) so long as the overall economic situation does not worsen too much in the remainder of this year."

Tianjin Port is a major hub for international trade in northern China and a gateway to the sea for many Chinese businesses.

Tianjin Port officially started to offer homeport services for international cruise liners on June 26 this year.

Diversified business

Besides its port business, Tianjin Port will also develop logistics, real estate in port areas, and the financial industry.

"Tianjin Port will provide better services for cargo owners and shipping companies through developing international logistics. We will construct a logistics network which could cover all the hinterlands, and, to that effect, we have built 16 dry ports," Yu said.

"In addition, our real estate projects are different from those of other companies. They will focus on providing support for port-related industries such as logistics and manufacturing."

Tianjin Port attaches great importance to the financial industry, Yu said. Tianjin Port has its own fund management company, and it will invest in financing, tenancy and trust-related businesses.

"Tianjin Port is the city's biggest comparative advantage and has core resources. Tianjin government is committed to accelerating its infrastructure construction and expanding its functions," Yu said.

The port was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1996. The share price of Tianjin Port gained 0.91 percent to 8.9 yuan as of the 11:30 am break on Monday.

Tianjin has probably the world's largest land reclamation projects, with several artificial peninsulas covering a combined area larger than either Manhattan and HK island. And I'm not including the monster manmade peninsulas of Caofeidian and Huanghua ports, that are also very close to Tianjin.

Shanghai and Shenzhen Ports See Double Digit Growth in Container Throughput

source: China Briefing (http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2010/09/10/shanghai-and-shenzhen-see-double-digit-growth-in-container-throughput.html)

SHANGHAI, Sept. 10 – Container throughput in the ports of Shanghai and Shenzhen rose by double digit growth to record highs in August.

Shanghai’s total container throughput totaled 2.64 million twenty-foot equivalent units, an increase of 20.7 percent year-on-year according to the Shanghai International Port Group. Shenzhen Port container traffic reached 2.24 million TEUs, an increase of 29.5 percent the Shenzhen Port Administration reported.
Shanghai overtook Singapore to become the busiest container port in the world in April, and Shenzhen displaced Hong Kong as the world’s third busiest in July.

Shanghai Port recorded a cargo throughput of 35.73 million metric tons in August, up 14.68 percent year-on-year, while Shenzhen’s cargo traffic climbed 19.9 percent to 20.29 million metric tons.

The data are only for the first eight months of 2010, so it is not sure for the whole year. Nonetheless it is still a great news for Shanghai port.
-----

Shanghai takes Singapore's busiest port tag
source: Lloyd's List DCN (http://www.lloydslistdcn.com.au/archive/2010/september/16/singapore-dismisses-shanghai2019s-success)
Sep 16th, 2010

Singapore’s loss of the title of “busiest port in the world” to Shanghai is not a concern, said the city state’s port and maritime authority.

In the first eight months of the year, Shanghai handled 19.06mteu compared with Singapore’s 19.01, a difference of around 50,000 teu.

Singapore’s figures represented a 13% increase over the same period last year, while Shanghai grew 19.1% year on year.

Singapore led the way until April, when Shanghai eclipsed its Asian rival on a monthly basis on the back of a strong recovery in Chinese exports.

However in a written response to questions, a spokesman for the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore played down the significance of the latest data. The MPA said the two ports are different in nature.

“Singapore is mainly a transhipment hub, with more than 80% of our container throughput being transhipment cargo.

"As a key gateway for China’s imports and exports, the Shanghai port handles mainly import/export cargo,” the spokesman said.

The authority added given the strong economic growth in China and its emergence as the world’s second-largest economy, Shanghai’s success was “not surprising” and said the change in the relative position in terms of container throughput between Singapore and Shanghai was “not unexpected”.

“The MPA is more concerned with whether the Port of Singapore continues to grow and continues to provide quality and competitive service,” the spokesman said, adding in this aspect Singapore had done well this year.

As a major transhipment hub, Singapore also benefited from China’s growth, he said.

“The MPA is not concerned with the change in relative position," he added.

China's Dalian Port gets nod for $556 mln mainland IPO

SHANGHAI, Oct 19 (Reuters) - China's securities regulator has approved Dalian Port's planned $556 million initial public offering on the mainland, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said on its website.

Dalian Port, north China's largest port operator, plans to issue up to 1.2 billion shares in the IPO.

As part of the listing plan, Dalian Port will acquire the port business and assets of its major shareholder PDA Corp by issuing 1.2 billion shares to the latter in a share placement.

The listing of the yuan-denominated A shares and the planned acquisition will mark the listing of the entire Dalian Port group.

Citic Securities is the underwriter for the planned offering.

Chinese ports struggle with huge overcapacity -exec

GUANGZHOU, China, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Chinese ports are struggling with overcapacity as global demand has failed to keep pace with years of rapid facilities expansion, said the vice president of China Merchants Holdings .

China has six of the 10 biggest ports in the world and another 14 with capacity of at least 100 million tonnes, reflecting the government's vast investment in infrastructure to facilitate growth in trade.

China's port capacity is estimated to be as much as 40 percent more than current demand, said Su Xingang, who is also the chief economist of China Merchants Holdings, at an industry conference.

"The large scale port construction in recent years and market demand slump last year are seeing an actual overcapacity and a large scale of idle facilities among small and middle-sized ports," he said.

Even if no new ports were built in China, it could take more than three years for demand to catch up with capacity at the "well-operated" ports and as much as five years for others, Xingang said.

"With the readjustment of the economic structure and the change of development mode, China's economy will slow down and the main incentive will be internal demand instead of exports in driving the economy," he added.

China's economic growth is expected to slow next year to around 9.6 percent from 10.5 percent this year, according to the IMF.

XIAMEN +24%

In the first eleven months, the container traffic at the port of Xiamen, China in the seventh, recorded annual growth of 24%

Shanghai says becomes world's busiest container port


SHANGHAI | Sat Jan 8, 2011 12:41am EST

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news_image_files/container-port_190.jpg

SHANGHAI Jan 8 (Reuters) - Shanghai overtook Singapore as the world's busiest container port in 2010, helped by continuing growth in Chinese trade and the business generated by the World Expo it hosted last year, the city government said.

Shanghai's port handled 29.05 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2010, the municipal government said in a statement on its website, citing a work meeting on turning Shanghai into a global shipping centre.

That compared with the 28.4 million TEUs handled by the Port of Singapore in 2010, which was up 9.9 percent from 2009, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

Shanghai's cargo throughput rose to around 650 million tonnes in 2010, maintaining its top global spot, according to the statement.

China's State Council, or cabinet, has set an aim of making Shanghai a leading shipping centre by 2020 -- the same year by which the government hopes the city will become a global financial centre.

Shanghai will continue with a pilot project for export tax rebates, potentially expanding it, and is looking into developing shipping-price derivatives and an index on shipping prices, the city government said.

Shanghai's port is operated by Shanghai International Port (Group) Co . (Reporting by Jason Subler, editing by Andrew Marshall) http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/images/logo.gif

^^Ah well, its a long time coming. I guess Singapore just could not hold on to the title long enough as we don't have enough land to expand our port and the growing demand for Chinese products means a lot of containers go through their port. :)

Shanghai Int Port posts 44 pct jump in 2010 net

SHANGHAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Shanghai International Port , China's largest port group, on Tuesday posted a 43.6 percent rise in its 2010 full-year net profit, thanks to an increase in cargo throughput.

Net profit for the year rose to 5.4 billion yuan ($813.7 million), compared with 3.76 billion a year ago, Shanghai International Port said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Total revenues rose 14.6 percent to 18.97 billion yuan, while its earnings per share rose to 0.257 yuan from 0.179 yuan.

The group's cargo throughput reached 428 million tonnes in 2010, up from 365 million tonnes the previous year. ($1=6.636 Yuan)

Shanghai had actually lost its top spot as world's busiest seaport by cargo tonnage to Ningbo-zhoushan from year 2009. Shanghai's 650 million number was the combined total of its seaport and riverport, while Ningbo-zhoushan posted 630 million tonnes from its seaport alone in 2010. However, as of container throughput, Ningbo-zhoushan is only about half that of Shanghai's. At about 13 million TEU's for 2010, it may end up 6th in the world's busiest container ports.
Shanghai says becomes world's busiest container port

(Reporting by Jason Subler, editing by Andrew Marshall) http://www.reuters.com/resources_v2/images/logo.gif

Tianjin Port Group, Cnooc In Talks On LNG Terminal - Report
4 March 2011

SHANGHAI (Dow Jones)--Tianjin Port Group Co. Chairman Yu Rumin said the port operator is in talks with China National Offshore Oil Corp, the country's third-largest oil company by capacity, to build a liquefied natural gas terminal at Tianjin port to ease a gas shortage in northern China, the China Daily reported Friday.

The project will include an LNG dock and receiving station that can handle 3 million tons of LNG imported from the Middle East, Yu said in an interview with the newspaper. He said the project would mainly boost LNG supplies to Tianjin and Beijing.

Tianjin Port is also in talks with several large domestic companies that have an overseas presence to build up or operate ports overseas, the paper cited Yu as saying, without providing further details.

Tianjin Port Group is the parent of Shanghai-listed Tianjin Port Holdings Co. (600717.SH). Tianjin Port is China's third-biggest port by cargo throughput.

China National Offshore Oil Corp. is the parent of CNOOC Ltd. (CEO), which is listed in New York and Hong Kong.


Newspaper website: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn

Maersk, Dubai to invest in $4.6 bln Qingdao Port expansion

BEIJING, March 7 (Reuters) - Denmark's A.P. Moeller-Maersk <MAERSKb.CO> and other foreign investors will invest in Qingdao Port Group's $4.6 billion expansion scheme in the next five years, a senior Chinese executive said on Monday.

Qingdao Port is joining Shanghai International Port (Group) Co (SIPG) and other Chinese peers in an expansion spree to keep up with China's ever growing foreign trade.

It plans to invest 30 billion yuan ($4.6 billion) by 2015, increasing its container volume by two-thirds to 20 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) and nearly doubling its bulk cargo capacity to 600 million tonnes.

"We have several overseas investors in our container terminal already. They will participate in the next phase of the project," Chang Dechuan told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of China's National People's Congress.

SIPG, however, took a different approach in its multi-billion dollar expansion of the Yangshan deepwater port, which could have as many as 50 container berths eventually, according to local government plans.

Yangshan Port, nearly Shanghai, has several overseas investors in its second phase, including A.P. Moeller-Maersk's APM Terminals and a Hutchison Whampoa subsidiary.

But foreign investors were kept at bay in the following phases as the government, flush with cash, was unwilling to share the ever-growing pie, industry observers say.

Qingdao Port now holds 29 percent of its multiparty container terminal venture, Qingdao Qianwan, Chang said. The rest of the shares are spread "fairly evenly" among Moeller-Maersk, Dubai's DP World , China COSCO among others.

The next phase of the project will be funded by Qingdao Port and its partners initially. But the port operator is also seeking to go public to help bankroll its expansion, Chang said.

China's IPO market, one of the world's biggest in recent years, is likely to remain active in 2011 if the government speeds up its move to allow foreign companies to sell shares on its stock markets, bankers say.

Dalian Port in the northeast raised $856 million late last year in its share sales in mainland China.

"We had hoped to go public in 2008, but the process takes much longer than expected. We are still working on it," Chang said, but declined to give a new listing target.

On top of the container business, Qingdao, one of the oldest ports in China, also handles varies commodities such as coal, crude oil, iron ore and grain.

Its bulk cargo throughput came to 350 million tonnes in 2010, up 11 percent from a year earlier, with its container volume up 17 percent at 12 million TEUs, company data showed.

($1 = 6.567 yuan)

Can one visit Yangshan port as a tourist? Are there tours to there or something like that??

Can one visit Yangshan port as a tourist? Are there tours to there or something like that??
I think you can drive over the bridge, but I don't know
if they have tours. There is also a town there so I think
the island is open for all. :)

Ok.. I thought that bridge was mostly for the trucks and not for public... Thanks..

March 8, 2011
China
Qingdao sees share
20 million TEUs

http://i54.tinypic.com/etf9j6.jpg

Over the next five years the port of Qingdao will increase by two thirds of its container handling capacity will rise to 20 million TEUs a year, and will double the capacity for cargo, which will rise to 600 million metric tons 'year. At the five-year plan of investments by $ 4.6 billion terminal will participate in the company APM Terminals, DP World and Cosco Pacific. In 2010 the port of Qingdao has handled 12 million TEUs, an increase of 17 on an annual basis, while in the field of cargo growth was 11% with 350 million tonnes.

Source: shippingonline.it

NEW INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE PORT OF TIANJIN CHINA


The port of Tianjin, China, has launched an investment plan of $ 2.1 billion, beginning the construction of a navigation channel with a capacity of 300,000 tons per year. The work, which will last 15 months, will focus on the enlargement to 330 meters of the existing channel, and the development of its depth to 21 meters. Last year the port of Tianjin has handled record volume of 413 million tonnes of cargo. The container handling was more than 10 million TEUs. The objective of the Port Authority is to arrive by 2015 to 560 million tonnes and handling 18 million TEUs.

Source: Chamber of Labour in Pozzallo

China offers deal to striking truckers
AFP
Sat Apr 23, 8:42 am ET

SHANGHAI (AFP) – Shanghai authorities have offered concessions to truck drivers who staged a strike over rising fuel costs, amid concerns that anger over inflation could spark wider unrest in China.

Hundreds of drivers picketed this week at shipping sites in Shanghai, the world's busiest container port, calling for lower port fees to offset damaging hikes in diesel prices, in a strike that prompted a heavy police response.

The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority published a set of proposals late Friday in response to strikers' demands, abolishing or reducing various fees incurred by drivers.

But there was still some dispute over container freight charges, said Wen Yunchao, a prominent blogger who has followed the strikes and been in regular contact with people on the ground.

Authorities have reduced those changes from 50 yuan ($7.7) to 20 yuan per container, but drivers want them abolished altogether.

Wen said the situation in Shanghai appeared calm on Saturday, with drivers apparently in negotiation with authorities. It was unclear whether the strike had ended altogether.

But Wen added that this week's strikes could trigger copycat work stoppages in other ports where drivers have similar grievances.

He pointed to a high-profile taxi driver strike in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing in 2008, which was successfully resolved and subsequently triggered cab work stoppages in other cities around the country.

The state-run Chinese-language media -- which is heavily censored -- has not reported on the strike, in an indication of official unease over the potential for wider unrest.

Inflation has a history of sparking protests in China and the government is on edge over spiralling prices, particularly after inflation became a factor in the popular uprisings that have rocked the Arab world.

China's consumer price index rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in March -- the fastest pace since July 2008 and well above the government's 2011 target of four percent.

"They (leaders) realise that the recent inflation situation in China can easily trigger general unrest," Wen said.

The government has raised petrol and diesel prices three times since December.

Soaring prices of food and housing have also become top public concerns, prompting Premier Wen Jiabao to pledge new efforts to contain the problem in his address to China's rubber-stamp parliament in March.

Drought in China snags Yangtze river shipping
On Thursday May 5, 2011, 5:09 am EDT

SHANGHAI (AP) -- Authorities are rushing to unsnag snarled shipping traffic and prevent accidents along the drought-stricken Yangtze River, a key route to fast growing markets in inland China.

The government said Thursday that a prolonged dry spell has left water flows dangerously low along the Yangtze.

Dozens of emergency teams have been deployed along the river's middle reaches to help prevent accidents, said a notice on the government's website. It said water levels at some measuring stations had dropped to record low levels.

Although the 6,300 kilometer (3,900-mile) Yangtze is better known for its summer seasonal flooding, a severe drought in northern and eastern China has sharply reduced runoff into the river, which stretches from far western Qinghai to China's Pacific coast.

The prolonged dry spell has stunted the winter wheat crop, sapped hydroelectricity production and threatened drinking water supplies for at least 3 million people. Much of vast Poyang lake, a wetland that often absorbs flood waters during the typhoon season, is now a flat plain of dust.

The problem is adding urgency to plans announced earlier this week to spend billions of dollars to dredge much deeper channels through the lower reaches of the heavily silted waterway -- a crucial step in an effort to develop major inland ports to handle growing cargo volume as manufacturers shift production further inland and away from heavily developed coastal regions.

Shanghai itself, at the mouth of the Yangtze, has long had to conduct dredging operations to keep its ports accessible, and in recent years constructed a new, deep water port on an offshore island to help meet soaring cargo transport demand in the region.

State run media report that neighboring Jiangsu province, just upriver, and the Ministry of Transport plan to spent 18 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) on deepening navigation channels along the lower Yangtze to enable 50,000-ton vessels, such as bulk freighters, to travel as far as the provincial capital, Nanjing.

But Wuhan and Chongqing, major cities further inland, face even larger hurdles: The water level at Hankou, in Wuhan, was only 2.87 meters (9.4 feet) as of Wednesday, below its dry-season average level of 4 meters.

Shanghai Sea-Cargo to Rise 10% Annually
By Bloomberg News - Jun 27, 2011 12:00 AM GMT+0800

Shanghai port, the world’s busiest for containers, expects volumes to rise about 10 percent annually for the next five years as manufacturers open plants in western and inland China in search of lower-cost labor.

Rising production in these regions has benefited Shanghai because of increasing cargo volumes along the Yangtze river, Chen Xuyuan, president of harbor operator Shanghai International Port (Group) Co., said in a June 23 interview. The river, Asia’s longest, stretches 6,397 kilometers (3,975 miles) across China before meeting the East China Sea in Shanghai.

The Yangtze River Delta “will continue to be the main region driving china’s economic expansion,” Chen said. The river handled 1.34 billion tons of cargo in 2009, more than triple 2000’s volumes, according to government data.

Shanghai’s container traffic this year may rise 12 percent, likely enough to retain its crown for cargo-box volumes over Singapore, Chen said. Volumes leapt 16 percent in 2010 as the end of the global recession triggered a surge in shipments of Chinese-made auto parts, furniture and toys to the U.S. and Europe.

“Last year, we saw incredible growth,” Chen said. “This year, traffic is growing at a more normal and healthy pace.”

Shanghai handled 12.7 million containers in the first five months of this year, compared with 12.1 million by Singapore.

Foxconn, Lee & Man

Apple Inc. supplier Foxconn Technology Group and Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing Ltd. (2314) are among companies to have opened factories in inland provinces because of lower wages and government incentives. The government has encouraged the trend to spread economic growth beyond coastal regions including the Pearl River Delta in Southern China.

The Yangtze, which handles 80 percent of China’s river freight, passes through provinces including Chongqing, Anhui, and Sichuan.

Shanghai Port rose 1.8 percent to 3.92 yuan on the city’s stock market on June 24. The shares have risen 2.9 percent this year, compared with a 2.2 percent drop in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index.

The Shanghai government and Hong Kong-listed China Merchants Holdings (International) Co. are the company’s two biggest shareholders, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Shanghai last year surpassed Singapore as the world’s busiest container port moving 29.05 million 20-foot boxes compared with the city-state’s tally of 28.4 million.

China owns world's third largest number of cargo ships
15:43, July 12, 2011

As of the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan, China ranked third worldwide in terms of cargo ships with a total of 178,000.

During the 11th Five-Year Plan, China's status as a leading power in shipping, port transportation and container traffic was dramatically enhanced. At the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan, combined deadweight capacity of cargo ships totaled 180 billion tons, which is an increase in capacity of 77 percent over that of the 10th Five-Year Plan.

International Maritime Organization has nominated China as Class A members 11 times consecutively for China's prominent contribution to the development of sea transportation. Assuming more than 90 percent of China's foreign trade transportation, China’s ocean shipping effectively boosted the rapid development of national economy and foreign trade.

By the end of 2010, China had overtaken Korean as the number one ship-building country.

By People's Daily Online

China’s HNA Said to Hold Exclusive Talks to Buy GE Shipping-Container Unit
Jul 29, 2011 12:37 AM GMT+0800
Bloomberg

HNA Group Co., the airline and hotel operator controlled by China’s Hainan province, is in exclusive talks to buy the shipping-container lessor co-owned by General Electric Co. (GE), said a person with knowledge of the matter.

HNA may reach a deal within a week if the lessor, known as GE SeaCo, opts to proceed with a sale, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private. The price under discussion values GE SeaCo at more than $1 billion, or about $2.5 billion including debt, the person said.

A successful bid for the world’s fifth-biggest container lessor would be the latest demonstration of Chinese companies’ appetite for acquisitions around the globe. Purchases in the past year include a $2 billion Norwegian chemicals operation and a General Motors Co. parts division. HNA agreed in May to buy a 432 million euro ($618 million) stake in a Spanish hotel chain.

HNA prevailed in an auction that also drew interest from Textainer Group Holdings Ltd. (TGH), the largest container lessor, and private-equity firm Kelso & Co., according to people with knowledge of those firms’ interest.

“As we stated previously, we continue to work through our strategic alternatives process, and really have nothing further to add,” said Dori Abel, a spokeswoman for the GE Capital unit at Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE.

No one authorized to speak to the press was available at HNA after regular business hours today. Representatives from Textainer and Kelso didn’t immediately return calls.
Airlines to Hotels

Led by Chairman Chen Feng, HNA began as the province’s regional airline and was once known as Hainan Airlines Co., its website says. It bought other carriers and is now China’s fourth-largest aviation company, the website says. HNA’s operations include airports, hotels and department stores.

HNA said this month it may bid for Hochtief AG (HOT)’s airport- operating unit, which would give it control of airports in Hamburg, Sydney, Budapest, and Athens. It also agreed to invest in a Turkish cargo carrier, ACT Airlines Inc.

GE Capital formed Barbados-based GE SeaCo as a 50-50 joint venture with Sea Containers Ltd. in 1998. Sea Containers, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, later filed for bankruptcy and emerged in 2009, with control of the company in the hands of former creditors.
Strategic Review

Sea Containers’ successor, SeaCo Ltd. (SEAOF), confirmed in February that an investment bank was hired to review “strategic alternatives” for GE SeaCo. Deutsche Bank AG is the investment bank, and it is also working to assemble financing for HNA’s bid, one of the people with knowledge of the matter said.

With a fleet of 950,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, GE SeaCo is the world’s fifth-largest, according to a ranking included in a Textainer regulatory filing. Textainer, based in Bermuda and run from San Francisco, has 2.3 million TEU.

In May, another one of the top leasing companies changed hands when Chicago’s Pritzker family sold Triton Container International Ltd. to a pair of private-equity firms, Warburg Pincus LLC and Vestar Capital Partners. Bermuda-based Triton is the second-biggest container lessor, according to the Andrew Foxcroft ranking in the Textainer document.

Container lessors are benefiting from growing freight demand, limited supply and climbing prices for new units. The cost of a new-cargo box rose to a record this year, according to the World Shipping Council, a Washington-based trade group.

Higher prices are prompting shippers to lease rather than buy, said Brian Sondey, chief executive officer of lessor TAL International Group Inc. (TAL), on an April conference call. The Bloomberg U.S. Container Leasing Index, which includes shares of Textainer and TAL, returned almost 100 percent since the start of 2010.

The GE SeaCo stake is among finance assets grouped together to wind down or sell as CEO Jeffrey Immelt reshapes GE to focus on industrial units. He is shrinking the portion of total revenue from GE Capital as well as its assets.

in half
ningbo, growth
by 14.7 percent

http://shippingonline.ilsecoloxix.it/rw/PortaleShipping/ShippingWEB/container/foto_trattate/2011/08/22/NINGBO--220x286.jpg

Ningbo - The Chinese port of Ningbo, has registered an increase of traffic in the first half by 14.7 percent, amounting to 1.3 million TEUs. Ningbo in the first six months of the year it handled 8.4 million TEU (+14%). In terms of tonnage, the port has handled 248 million, an increase of 9.3 percent, of which 134.5 million (+14 percent) in the scope of foreign trade.


Source: www.shippingonline.it

Looks like the ports in the Yangtze River delta are still growing very well!

Shaping up, shipping out
Updated: 2011-10-21 09:02
By Lu Chang, Chen Xin and Hu Meidong (China Daily)

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Port helped Xiamen transform into commercial hub

For any recent visitor to Xiamen, it may not have come as a surprise that the city has decades of economic and trade links with Hong Kong, Macao and Southeast Asia. Located in the southeast coast of Fujian province and facing Taiwan across the Straits, Xiamen was chosen as one of the first mainland cities to "open up" to the outside world in 1980.

Since then, foreign trade has been playing a vital role in developing Xiamen. After 30 years, the once sleepy coastal village is unrecognizable. The drab houses, rutted dirt roads and paddy fields have been replaced with a fresh, cutting-edge look - skyscrapers on palm tree-lined boulevards in modern commercial areas. "Xiamen positions itself as an international harbor city. And behind such a proposal is Xiamen's strong growth of foreign trade and its close relationship with Taiwan," says Xiong Yanliang, head of the commerce bureau in the city.

"With the expansion of the Pearl River Delta economic belt and better cross-Straits economic ties, foreign trade will continue to increase."

Yu Weiguo, Xiamen's Party secretary, says the ocean and port facilities have been the driving force changing his city.

"In the past three decades, the port sector has played an important role in the growth of the regional economy," he says.

"Port and ocean resources are actually the city's largest advantages, which will serve its future economic outlook."

Xiamen Port, a hub for international trade and bulk cargo, now has 12 port areas.

Major port operators and constructors around the world have invested in Xiamen by building large harbor facilities.

APM Terminals, the port operation unit of the Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, owns a 25 percent stake in the Xiamen Songyu Container Terminal at Songyu port area, while the Xiamen Port Holding Group, the major operator of Xiamen Port, holds the rest.

The two invested some $380 million in the first phase of the terminal, which started operations in September 2007.

Last month, Cosco Pacific Ltd, part of the country's largest shipping group COSCO, received 10 cranes from Terex Corp, a US-based heavy equipment maker, to boost its container handling capacity at the Ocean Gate Container Terminal at the Haicang port area.

"As container volumes continue to increase, we need cranes to match growing demand in the long term," says Zhang Junsheng, general manager of Xiamen Ocean Gate Container Terminal.

The terminal was constructed with a total investment of 4.5 billion yuan ($705 million, 510 million euros) and started operating in July. It is a joint venture between Cosco Pacific, holding a 70 percent stake in the terminal, and Xiamen Haicang Investment Company.

According to Zhang, the terminal can handle ships up to 150,000 tons, and with only four berths, its annual capacity can reach 3 million standard containers.

According to 2010 economic statistics released by the Xiamen government, Xiamen Port had a total throughput of 139 million tons and 5.8 million containers last year, ranking seventh in the nation and 19th among the top 100 ports worldwide.

The import and export value exceeded $50 billion last year, 407 times higher than it was 30 years ago, and accounts for more than 25 percent of the local GDP, the city's commerce bureau shows.

The Xiamen Port has 52 berths that can handle vessels of 10,000 tons, among them 10 deep-water berths that can accommodate ships of more than 100,000 tons and is capable of serving the biggest vessels in the world, the Xiamen Port Authority says.

The port has 137 container shipping lines that operate 490 vessels, traveling each month to nearly all of the major ports in the world.

As the first mainland port authorized to handle direct cargo shipping business with Taiwan in 2008, cargo to and from its neighbor now exceeds 3 million containers.

It also has freight routes to Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Australia, North and South America, Europe and the Middle East.

"We plan to invest 14 billion yuan in the next five years to expand shipping capacity and update the infrastructure to attract more international companies to invest in our ports. And that would also help us to open new routes and acquire more shipment orders," says Cai Liangya, director of the Xiamen Port Authority.

The expansion is necessary to compete with larger ports, such as the Ningbo-Zhoushan facility, the world's top seaport in terms of volume, and ports in Tianjin and Shenzhen.

This is ever more apparent after the volume of exports shrank because of the weakening demand from the US and Europe.

"As an export-oriented port, the production of Xiamen Port was affected by the international financial crisis," Cai says. "Though the industry has picked up, the golden time has passed."

As a result, they are mulling initiatives to boost the port industry.

Since 2010, the Fujian provincial government joined hands with local governments to propose a new program for Xiamen's port business.

The concept is building large-scale industry clusters and port warehouses along with creating a strong logistics network.

Cai says the model calls for support from all industries - transportation, logistics, trading and finance.

"It's expected to extend the industrial chain, and we hope it can be a key breakthrough in Xiamen's economy," he says.

One paramount achievement in the Xiamen port industry in recent years was the integration of the port facilities of Xiamen and Zhangzhou, a coastal city next to Xiamen Haicang district.

This relationship made it possible for both cities to better use resources and favorable policies enjoyed by the former Xiamen Port in terms of taxes, duties, allowances and customs extended to all districts of the former Zhangzhou Port.

"In fact, the port facility construction is certainly important, but the future of the port industry is also about personalized and low-cost services for the customers," says Miao Luping, deputy general manager of the Xiamen Port Holding Group. "A complete set of integrated solutions, from logistics and services network for sea transport to inland transport, is the key to win customers over."

As part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), Xiamen Port aims to have an annual throughput of 200 million tons and 10 million containers by 2015.

Fang Kairui, commerce general manager of Taikoo Aircraft Engineering Company (Taeco) in Xiamen, brims with enthusiasm about the development of the port industry in the city.

Founded in 1993, Taeco was among one of the first foreign companies to base its operations center in Xiamen. Fang says the efficient logistic services in Xiamen Port gives the company easy access to his customers in South and East China.

"We provide 'one stop' services to our customers. So Xiamen's location in the middle of the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas can meet the needs to shorten the delivery time of aircraft components, equipment and materials," he says.

Forty-nine of world's top 500 multinational corporations, such as Kodak, Dell, GM, Boeing, Panasonic, NEC, Toshiba and ABB, have offices in Xiamen, making the city a truly global manufacturing base.

Rotterdam in negotiations to form JV in Tianjin
Updated: 2011-11-09 07:55
China Daily

BO'AO, Hainan - Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe measured by throughput, plans to form a joint venture with a company in the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area to provide management services for the Nangang port, said Hans Smits, president and chief executive officer of the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

The proposal is at an initial stage and has yet to receive government approval before it can proceed. If it comes to fruition, it will be the first time that a European port has invested in China, according to the Rotterdam team.

"China is a very important market for us, and we intend to expand investments step by step," said Smits in an exclusive interview.

He said a new oil terminal in Rotterdam port, which is still under construction, has drawn interest from Chinese petrochemical and oil companies.

The terminal will allow companies to get oil from Russia and distribute it to China and other countries with a high demand for the commodity, Smits said, declining to disclose the companies' names.

"We expect more Chinese investment in Rotterdam port in the next few years," he added.

In 2009, the Dutch port surpassed Hamburg to become the European port handling the largest amount of container cargo transported between China and Europe.

One-third of the container cargo that now goes through it is being transported to or from China, and that figure is expected to increase, according to the port.

At a time when the developed economies are struggling with debt concerns and high rates of unemployment and emerging markets are battling inflation, the global economy is going through a difficult recovery period. The maritime industry has been one of the first industries to show signs of the impending troubles.

In Rotterdam port, the cargo volume during the first nine months of the year increased by 1.7 percent above what it had been a year ago, reaching 317 million tons, according to the port. Container throughput, meanwhile, increased by 11 percent during the first three quarters of the year, bringing the total weight of the cargo handled to 93 million tons.

"We had a good third quarter and are very careful about the fourth quarter," Smits said. "We expect to see full-year growth, but there is a slowdown in container throughput growth in the fourth quarter, as the world economy is cooling.

"We expect to see a strong impact (from the debt crisis) in the coming years, when the European economy will maintain a modest annual increase of 1 percent to 2 percent."

Hou Yunchun, vice-director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said that it may take a "relatively long" time for the world economy to recover.

"The world economy needs time to go through a deep restructuring," he said. "This period will be marked by low economic growth and the development of emerging industries."

But China's economic growth is still expected to maintain its momentum, even though the country is exporting less, Hou said.

"China's economic growth will be led by demand next year," he said. "Domestic consumption is likely to increase. The growth in foreign investment and exports will remain strong, despite a slowdown in the growth rate."

From January to September, the value of China's exports increased by 22.7 percent more than a year ago, rising to $1.39 trillion, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce. That growth rate trailed the rate for the same period over the past year by 11.3 percentage points, the ministry reported.

Meanwhile, the same period saw the value of the country's imports increased by 26.7 percent, reaching $1.29 trillion. The rate of growth trailed the rate for the past year by 15.7 percentage points, according to the ministry's data.

Weihai eyes cooperation with Japan and South Korea
2011-11-18
China Daily

In Weihai, a city of 2.5 million people on the northern coast of the Shandong Peninsula, has an ambitious goal of becoming the spear that prods Shandong's growing marine economy, local officials have indicated.

Over the next five years, the city will focus on aquatic products processing, shipbuilding, port logistics, marine tourism, emerging industries, and modern petrochemicals.

With its more than 1,000 kilometers of coastline, the city has dreams of becoming home of top marine industries and a pilot in cooperation between China, Japan and South Korea.

Weihai has 168 islands, over 300 marine species and a 220-square-kilometer shallow sea area that can accommodate marine farming.

It has 50 leading brands of seafood, which resulted in $594 million worth of exports in the first eight months of this year.

The Weihai government is encouraging its companies to do research on aquatic breeding and fish farming. It already has 20 high-tech enterprises in the fishing business.

It also has 10 shipbuilding companies, such as the Huanghai Shipbuilding Co Ltd, and a shipbuilding capacity of up to four million dead weight tons (DWT).

In September, Weihai was listed among a group of 12 cities that will get preferential government treatment in its ship exports.

During the first eight months, the city built 870,000 DWT of ships, a year-on-year increase of 55 percent. These brought it 7.7 billion yuan ($1.21 billion) in revenue, $1 billion of which was generated by exports.

In the area of emerging industries, Weihai has its eye on clean energy, new materials, information, and pharmaceuticals, and, currently has 39 emerging-industry projects under construction, with an investment of 37.3 billion yuan.

The companies involved include Weigao Holdings, in pharmaceuticals, Weihai Huadong Automation, and Shandong New Beiyang Information Technology.

To attract more such projects, the Weihai government has held trade talks in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea and has 23 foreign-funded projects, each with an investment of more than $10 million. It also has 93 Chinese-backed projects, with 100 million yuan in investment each.

The ASE Group, a major provider of independent semiconductor manufacturing services, for assembly and testing, is putting 8 billion yuan into a package and testing project in Weihai.

In the tourism sector, Weihai has some top tourism products that include its hot springs and various forms of beach entertainment.

And, Hong Kong's China Resources Co Ltd, wanting to capitalize on the city's resources, is spending $1.5 billion on a world-class tourist site.

China Shunning Ships Shows $2.3 Billion Vale Mistake: Freight

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Vale Brasil, the biggest commodity ship ever built, was designed to carry iron ore to China from South America. After six months in operation, it hasn’t done that once.

China’s refusal to accept the Brasil has derailed Vale SA’s push to control shipments to its biggest customer by building up a fleet of 35 ships, each almost as large as the Bank of America Tower in New York. Rio de Janeiro-based Vale, the world’s biggest iron ore miner, ships about 45 percent of sales to China, the largest consumer of the steelmaking ingredient.

Vale’s plan, which includes buying 19 vessels for $2.3 billion, has spurred opposition from Chinese shipowners who say it will worsen overcapacity, slumping cargo rates and industrywide losses. Steelmakers are also likely against it as the ships would give Vale more control over pricing and delivery, said Chang Tao, a China Merchants Securities Co. analyst.

“Nobody in China wants Vale’s fleet to come,” he said. “Not shipping lines, not shipowners, not steelmakers.”

The miner may struggle to find alternative uses for all ships as no other markets as are big, he said. Vale also likely can’t cancel vessel orders or quit leasing contracts without paying “very heavy penalties,” said Ralph Leszczynski, the Beijing-based head of research at shipbroker Banchero Costa & Co.

“I’m pretty sure that Vale themselves have by now realized that they made a big mistake,” he said. “I find it really incredible that they committed so much money in this project without first getting written assurances from the Chinese side that they would be able to use the ships.”

Daewoo, Rongsheng

Vale’s press-relations office in Rio de Janeiro declined to comment. The miner is buying vessels from China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. It will also lease eight from STX Pan Ocean Co. under a $5.8 billion 25-year deal, according to 2009 statements from the Seoul-based shipping line.

Vale’s then-chief executive officer Roger Agnelli oversaw agreements for the 400,000 deadweight-ton vessels to reduce a reliance on outside shipping lines and risks from changes in freight costs. The Baltic Dry Index, a benchmark for global commodity-shipping rates, fluctuated more than 40 percent on an annual basis every year except one from 2001 to 2010.

130 Million Tons

The Vale vessels are about twice as big as the capesize ships that are now generally used to ferry commodities from Brazil to China. The miner plans to send about 130 million tons of iron ore on the route both this year and next.

The company is also investing $1.37 billion to set up a distribution centre in Malaysia that will be able to handle the very large ore carriers. Transferring cargo there to smaller vessels for shipment to China would likely increase freight costs, eroding at least some of the gains from the larger vessels’ size and fuel efficiency, said China Merchants’ Chang.

Vale has held talks with Chinese shipping lines about selling or leasing the about 360-meter-long vessels, Teddy Tang, the chief financial officer of its China operations, said in September. No deals had been reached.

The China Shipowners Association, whose members hold about 80 percent of the nation’s shipping capacity, has advised lines not to take the vessels, said Executive Vice Chairman Zhang Shouguo.

“The most important thing for Vale is to stop building,” said Zhang, a former deputy director in the transport ministry’s shipping division. “The additional capacity will exacerbate the already bad freight market.”

The China Iron & Steel Association has no position on suppliers’ shipping operations as long as they aren’t used to manipulate iron-ore prices, said General Secretary Zhang Changfu.

Rongsheng Heavy

The Brasil was this week in the Arabian Sea headed for Oman, according to data on the Bloomberg terminal. The ship was handed over to Vale by Daewoo Shipbuilding in May. The Seoul-based shipyard has also delivered two other similar-sized vessels, as it works through orders for seven worth a total of $748 million. More deliveries will follow next year and work is progressing as planned, the shipbuilder said by e-mail.

Vale also ordered 12 of the very large ore carriers from Rongsheng Heavy for $1.6 billion in 2008. The Shanghai-based shipbuilder expects to deliver the first this month, said Chief Executive Officer Chen Qiang. The handover is about two months late because of certification issues, he said. The company has begun building the other 11 on-order ships, with Vale paying in installments as work progresses, he said.

“I am not worried about any possibility of Vale canceling orders,” Chen said. “They need the ships to carry iron ore, and the vessels are greener and more advanced.”

Management Shakeup

Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira, who took on the job in May, this week named a new logistics head, Humberto Freitas, as part of a management reshuffle. The previous operations head, Eduardo Bartolomeo, will run the company’s fertilizers and coal unit.

Ferreira’s new regime may also herald a change in the approach to shipping, which could be announced at an investor day next week, said Rafael Weber, a Porto Alegre, Brazil-based Geracao Futuro Corretora analyst.

“They can’t fight with their main customer,” he said. “The company may decide against going ahead with it to avoid discord with the Chinese government.”

China’s Transport Minister Li Shenglin said earlier this month that the government will strengthen control of vessel deliveries and “guide the orderly arrival” of new ships amid tumbling rates and losses for shipping lines. China Cosco Holdings Co., the nation’s largest sea-cargo carrier, lost 4.8 billion yuan ($755 million) in the first nine months.

China Ports

The Vale Brasil was diverted on its maiden voyage in June from its original destination of Dalian, China to Italy after a request from a European customer and because “draft services” at the Chinese port weren’t ready, Ferreira said in July. The ships will “undoubtedly” go to China when needed, he said.

The ports of Dalian, Qingdao and Majishan near Shanghai are able to handle Brasil-sized vessels, Vale said in June. Qingdao, northeast China, hasn’t opened its facility because of “restrictions,” Li Yuzhai, a spokesman for Qingdao Port (Group) Co., said yesterday.

Calls to Majishan port yesterday went unanswered. Dalian Port PDA Co.’s press office referred enquiries to the company’s iron-ore handling unit. Calls there weren’t answered. A call to the ministry of transport wasn’t answered.

STX Pan Ocean has begun operating one of its eight VLOCs for Vale. The vessel is awaiting loading in Brazil, the shipping line said by e-mail yesterday. No changes to its agreement with Vale are expected, it said. The shipping line’s vessels are being built by affiliate STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co.

BW Group, Oman

BW Group will also operate four vessels for Vale, the miner said in 2007. One, the Berge Everest, was due to be delivered in September by Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., according to a statement on the website of BW affiliate Berge Bulk.

Rongsheng Heavy is also building four VLOCs for Oman Shipping Co., which will be leased to Vale and used to haul commodities to the sultanate. The vessels are all due to be delivered in the second half of 2012, the shipping line said by e-mail yesterday.

Still, Vale needs to use ships on China routes to fully utilize the fleet, and the country’s opposition to the vessels is unlikely to weaken, said Huang Wenlong, a Hong Kong-based analyst with BOC International Holdings Ltd.

“Once Vale moves its own iron ore, its control on the supply of iron ore extends into shipping, further diminishing Chinese steelmakers’ bargaining power,” he said. “That is a situation China doesn’t want to see.”

Drought snags shipping on rivers in S China

NANNING/CHANGSHA, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Shipping traffic remains paralyzed along the drought-stricken Xijiang and Xiangjiang rivers running through south China as authorities work to preserve drinking water for the region's households.

As of Sunday, more than 900 vessels remained stuck on a section of the Xijiang River that runs through the city of Wuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

A lack of rain decreased the river's runoff by more than 30 percent in December.

The Pearl River flood control and drought relief headquarters said Saturday that the Changzhou Reservoir, the river's primary water control facility, will not discharge water until Wednesday.

Water must be stored in the reservoir in order to ensure sustainable drinking water supplies for the city of Zhuhai and the Macao special administrative region in January. Otherwise, supplies will only last for 12 days, according to the headquarters.

Xijiang is a major tributary of the Pearl River. As the river's runoff shrank, seawater flowed back into the river, triggering a severe salt tide earlier this month.

Water management departments in the cities of Zhuhai and Zhongshan in Guangdong province have detected excessive salinity levels in water samples taken from pump stations along the river.

The river's low water level has been attributed to a lingering drought along its upper reaches in the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi.

Meanwhile, water levels on a section of the Xiangjiang River that runs through Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, reached a historic low on Thursday.

Chinese ports
traffic to +12%

Genoa. In the first eleven months of the Chinese ports handled a total of 149,099,600 TEUs, 12% more than the same period last year. The movement of ocean ports was 133,454,200 TEUs (+11.3%), to river ports and inland ports of 15,645,400 TEUs (+18.4%). Among the major ports, handled 29,077,000 TEUs Shanghai (+9.3%), Shenzhen 20,697,700 TEUs (-0.1%), Ningbo-Zhoushan 13,568,200 TEUs (+11.6%), Guangzhou 12,887 .500 TEUs (+13.7%), Qingdao 11,963,900 TEUs (+8.9%) and Tianjin 10,603,800 TEUs (+15.7%).

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Shanghai new record.
30 milions TEU in 2011.

That's a staggering number.

container
one hundred giants
between europe and asia

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Genoa - In the course of 2012 will come into service 42 new container ships with capacities of more than 13,000 TEUs, compared with 22 similar units have started operating in 2011. At the end of 2012, the world fleet of container ships by more than 13,000 TEUs will increase to one hundred units, all used routes between Asia and Europe, where last year the freight rates have declined by 50% due to the over-used capacity.

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China's largest inland port foreign trade up

URUMQI, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's largest inland port, the port of Alataw Pass in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, saw its foreign trade value reach 17.4 billion U.S. dollars last year, up by 46.5 percent from the previous year.

Last year, China imported 18.62 million tonnes of goods through the port, with an import value of 14 billion U.S. dollars. Exports hit 1.72 million tonnes with a value of 3.4 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Customs of Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

Bordering Kazakhstan, the port of Alataw Pass has a combination of railway, highway and pipeline transports. Crude oil, petroleum products, electrolytic copper and cotton are the main imports through the port.

Nagasaki-Shanghai ferry service launched

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Photo taken on March 2, 2012 shows the ferry Ocean Rose ported in east China's Shanghai Municipality. Japanese theme park operator HUIS TEN BOSCH launched a direct ferry service between southwestern Japanese city of Nagasaki and Chinese business city of Shanghai Wednesday. The service is operated by HTB Cruise Corporation, a subsidiary of the Dutch-themed resort park operator, with the aim to boost Chinese visitors to the local theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan's Kyushu Island. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)

NAGASAKI, Japan, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- Japanese theme park operator HUIS TEN BOSCH launched a direct ferry service between southwestern Japanese city of Nagasaki and Chinese business city of Shanghai Wednesday.

The service is operated by HTB Cruise Corporation, a subsidiary of the Dutch-themed resort park operator, with the aim to boost Chinese visitors to the local theme park in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan's Kyushu Island,

Prior to the evening departure, more than 100 people participated in a ceremony held in Nagasaki International Cruise Ship Terminal.

Houdou Nakamura, Governor of Nagasaki Prefecture stressed that the people living in Nagasaki naturally see Shanghai as one of its neighboring cities because of the history and geographic location and it is honorable for the people in Nagasaki to newly open the route in the year of the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China.

"The ship will be a bridge first between the two cities, second between the two countries, and then grow into such a stage that the younger people can keep daily communication each other in the future," Nakamura said.

Li Wenliang, consul general of the Chinese Consulate-General in Nagasaki said in his speech that the Shanghai-Nagasaki route would remind people the long history that people in former times, especially around in the 8th or the 9th century, made efforts to continue crossing the sea under the difficult sailing conditions.

So long as people in the both countries can keep "a belief" in their mind, the ship will become a larger friendship bridge between the neighboring countries, carrying "hope" and " expectation" to the future," Li said.

HTB Cruise Corporation said it would operate one round-trip per week until mid-March, and increase the service frequency to twice a week thereafter through the end of May.

It said the number of passengers would be limited to around 300 to 400 before renovation of guest rooms on the vessel in June to accommodate about 1,000.

On Wednesday, the first cruise carrying more than 200 passengers and 70 crew members set sail at 6:00 p.m. local time from Nagasaki International Cruise Ship Terminal. According to the latest timetable, it takes about 26 hours for the vessel to sail about 850 km, crossing the sea between Nagasaki and Shanghai. The ferry "OCEAN ROSE" has restaurants, a theater, some facilities for relaxation and entertainments such as body massage corner and table tennis room, as well as a duty free shop. The company offers one-way normal ticket for the route starting from 15,200 yen (,about 190 U.S. dollars) for passengers using comfort-seats. The service had been planned to commence last year but was delayed due to the earthquake-tsunami disaster and the ensuing nuclear crisis in northeastern Japan, causing a sharp drop in the number of Chinese visitors to Japan.

4.25 Tianjin Port and Binhai CBD

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by popoeye, gaoloumi.com