Full maritime 5G coverage will be deployed in major anchorages, fairways, terminals, and boarding grounds.

Delivery is scheduled to be delivered by mid-2025.

The announcement was made as part of the MPA’s 9^th edition of the International Safety@Sea Week, launched by Chee Hong Tat, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Finance.

A 5G network has the potential to unlock a full suite of maritime solutions leveraging complementary technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, drones and autonomous vehicles, to improve safety, effectiveness and efficiencies in maritime operations.

Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said: “Digitalisation continues to shape and transform the maritime industry, acting as a key driver for global trends such as logistics and supply chain efficiency and decarbonisation.

“MPA is taking the lead to help build a robust digital maritime ecosystem for Maritime Singapore, with fast, secure and high capacity 5G connectivity as one of the cornerstones to support real-time data exchanges in the maritime domain.”

Elsewhere in the port, MPA’s incident response management and safety enforcement capabilities across the full spectrum of operations will be further strengthened through the development of the Integrated Port Operations C3 (Command, Control and Communications) system (IPOC system).

The system is developed in collaboration with the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) and will enhance situational awareness and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of incident responses.

The IPOC system will be progressively phased in from 2023 to 2026 as MPA upgrades its systems.

The port will also further develop its online booking and clearance platform, digitalPORT@SG.

The second phase of the port will include the Active Anchorage Management System (AAMS).

The AAMS taps on various data sources to optimise allocation of limited anchorage space for vessels. It ensures that the vessel is anchored safely taking into consideration various conditions including the wind, tide, depth and proximity to hazards.

The AAMS is scheduled to be launched in in the third quarter of 2023.

Source: https://www.porttechnology.org/news/port-of-singapore-to-install-major-5g-network/

Egypt’s finance ministry has put in place a package of measures to clear a backlog of goods piled up in port, a ministry statement said on Tuesday.

A severe shortage of foreign currency in Egypt over the last six months has sent banks and importers scrambling to pay for the letters of credit needed to get their cargo released from customs. Factories and retailers complain that production and sales have been hurt due to a lack of inputs.

The foreign exchange crisis was triggered by the Ukrainian war and interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The package, to be implemented “in the coming days”, is designed to help reduce commodity prices paid by Egyptian citizens, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in the statement.

One measures will allow cargoes that have completed their customs procedures and are awaiting the “Model 4” financing to leave ports within “the next few days”, the statement said.

Model 4 is a pledge issued by commercial banks to pay the foreign exporter, according to a 2017 central bank directive. Banks over the last six months have often lacked the foreign currency needed to issue the pledge.

Fines imposed on importers and investors for being late in completing customs procedures will also be suspended if caused by a lack of documents from concerned authorities.

This measure will reduce the financial burden on importers and discourage them from passing on higher prices to consumers.

In addition, shipping agents will be allowed to remove cargo from customs zones and place it in outside warehouses provided they pledge not to release it before they have received permission. This is to relieve investors and importers from the additional cost of storing cargo inside port warehouses.

Source: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/news/egypt-introduces-measures-help-clear-379061

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has inaugurated a new multipurpose terminal, Terminal Kijing, at the Port of Pontianak, West Kalimantan on August 9 to support expansion of existing capacity, which has reached peak capacity.  The new terminal has a capacity to handle 5,000 twenty-foot TEU of containerized cargo, with a throughput of 200,000 TEU, and eight million tons of general bulk and breakbulk commodities.

To develop Terminal Kijing, state-owned port operator PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) spent around IDR2.9. trillion (US$194 million) and six years of construction, which started in 2013.  Pelindo faced many obstacles and progress was stalled several times until 2016 when the central government stepped in to give the project a boost by designating it a national strategic project.  This status cleared all bureaucracy.

This situation reflected the reality that a state-run port does not have full control of the port development program.  The government retains a big portion of authority in the hands of the Ministry of Transport with the power to allocate budget and give endorsement.  However, this policy triggers an asymmetrical business practice among state-run ports and private port operators.

By virtue of Shipping Law No. 17/2008, the port business is opened to both public and public sectors.  Nonetheless, the private sector has more support from the government than state-owned port companies.

For example, private port operators do not pay dividend to the state, only income tax and concession fee.  Pelindo, on the other hand, has to financially support the state.  Moreover, Pelindo’s financial performance is subject to scrutiny by the Audit Board or BPK (Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan), the national supreme auditing institution.  The private port operators are not subject to this scrutiny.

Unlike counterparts from other countries, Indonesian state-owned port companies do not enjoy any advantages, preference or special treatment from the government.  In fact, the government often hampers the growth of the state-run ports.

For example, the government’s poor handling of the development of Patimban Port in Subang, West Java.  The Ministry of Transport claimed Patimban Port is complementary to the Port of Tanjung Priok, Indonesia’s busiest port, which is located not far away.

However, the facilities at both ports are similar with the same container and car terminals.  When the Patimban Port was officially launched in December 2020 by Jokowi, the ministry was reportedly deviating car carriers from Tanjung Priok to Patimban.  Some responded positively but many, especially big car carriers, still called at Tanjung Priok.

The Patimban Port is financed partly by the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which funded IDR14.17 trillion of the IDR17.16 trillion needed for the first phase of the construction, which included the building of car, container and multipurpose quays, vehicle and box yards and other supporting facilities.  JICA has a 49 percent stake in the port.

PT Pelabuhan Patimban Internasional (PPI), the port operator, handed over the operation of the car terminal to Toyota Tsusho for a two-year contract, and reportedly the contract to operate the container terminal is given to a company majority-owned by Chairul Tanjung, an Indonesian businessman and former cabinet minister.  It seemed that PPI has morphed into a landlord instead, which may be in breach of the agreement it has with the Ministry of Transport.

Another similar story involved the Tanjung Carat project in South Sumatra, which was located close to the existing Boom Baru Port operated by Pelindo.  Pelindo, again, has to compete with Tanjung Carat Port.

The Terminal Kijing project has shown that port development by the Ministry of Transport and state-owned companies tended to favor small facilities scattered across the archipelago.  Consequently, they attracted less interest from main line operators and limited cargo flow from the hinterland.

The government should give Pelindo, the biggest national port operator, the authority and freedom it deserves to develop ports.  Pelindo, whose work can trigger great impact in the country, is to be hailed for its tenacity amidst unfavorable business climate.  So, next time, if Pelindo wants to develop a port, the government should give it permission to construct it adjacent to the Strait of Malacca with giant capacity and modern technology. Hopefully.

The new terminal has received 6 Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and 7 rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes from ZPMC. This was the last delivery of equipment before the terminal goes live, which is expected in November 2022.

The new, fully electric equipment arrived in Abidjan on a semi-submersible vessel and is expected to significantly reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions of the facility compared to a terminal running on diesel equipment. Thanks to a total investment of 262 billion CFA Francs (approx. 400 million Euro), CIT will, once completed, be equipped with 6 STS cranes, 13 RTG cranes and 36 tractors – all electric. This is fully aligned with APM Terminals’ ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2040 and a 70% emission reduction by 2030. As the next step, the terminal is also investigating the switch to green sources of electricity to power the equipment.

Koen De Backker, Managing Director of Côte d’Ivoire Terminal, said:

“The arrival of this equipment marks an important milestone for of our second container terminal, with the progress of the development of the container fleet estimated today at 95%. Arrival and commissioning of this equipment was the last element we were waiting for before we can start the operational testing phase.”

The new terminal aims to improve logistics services in Côte d’Ivoire and the countries of the sub-region and is expected to generate 450 direct and thousands of indirect jobs. It will contribute to development of skills and to training of young Ivorians in port operations and handling of next-generation equipment.

Hien Yacouba Sié, Director General of the Port Autonome d’Abidjan, said:

“We are pleased and proud to receive the latest gantries for container handling at Côte d’Ivoire Terminal. The arrival of these handling machines marks an important step in the finalization of the construction of the 2nd container terminal of the port of Abidjan. This project renews the Ivorian government’s commitment to the development of port infrastructure in Côte d’Ivoire and the increase of trade in the sub-region.”

Source: https://seawanderer.org/cote-divoire-terminal-gears-up-with-new-equipment

• Maersk unit APM Terminals has agreed to divest its 30.75% shareholding in Russia’s Global Ports Investments PLC to long-time partner Delo Group

• The deal has been reached on an arm’s length basis and includes the possibility for APMT to re-enter the partnership with Delo in the future, Maersk says

• With the divestment from Global Ports, APMT will no longer be involved in any entities operating in Russia or own any assets in that country

Maersk is quitting Russia  via a divestment of its holdings in Global Ports Investments PLC (GPI), a port operator in that country, the Danish global shipping and logistics giant announced in Copenhagen on August 30.

A.P. Moller-Maersk’s port business, APM Terminals (APMT), has agreed to divest its 30.75% shareholding in GPI to long-standing partner Delo Group, Maersk said.

The divestment comes nearly six months after Maersk announced its commitment to end activities in Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 this year.

The APMT transaction is a binding agreement that is subject to regulatory approval. With the transaction, joint venture partner Delo Group, which also owns 30.75% of GPI’s capital stock, will now become the controlling shareholder with a 61.5% shareholding.

Maersk said the transaction has been undertaken on an arm’s-length basis and includes the possibility for APMT to re-enter the partnership with Delo in the future.

“We are pleased that we have now concluded this transaction according to the plan and with our long-standing partner Delo, enabling us (an) orderly exit from GPI in line with our decision to discontinue activities in Russia,” said Keith Svendsen, chief executive of APM Terminals.

With its shares in GPI divested, APMT will no longer be involved in any business in Russia or own any assets it that country. The transfer of share ownership will take place after regulatory approvals have been obtained.

Delo said the parties entered into the transaction on agreed market terms.

The price of the deal was not disclosed. But on the Copenhagen bourse on Monday, AP Moller-Maersk closed 1.12% down to Danish krone 18,170 (USD$1,112.47) per share.

On the London Stock Exchange, Global Ports Holdings, GPI’s parent, ended flat at £89.50 on Monday, August 29, before the APMT divestment.

The impact of the transaction has not yet reflected on Maersk’s and Global Ports’ stocks as the European stock markets are still closed.

With the divestment of its shares in GPI, APMT will no longer be involved in any entities operating in Russia or own any assets in the country.

Maersk is an integrated container logistics company working to connect and simplify its customers’ supply chains. As the global leader in shipping services, Maersk operates in 130 countries, employing around 95,000 people.

APM Terminals, part of A.P. Moller-Maersk, operates one of the world’s most comprehensive port networks 75 terminals exclusively or together with a joint venture partner. This equates to handling around 250 vessel calls per day and 12.8 million moves per year.

Global Ports Investments, a subsidiary of London-based GP Holdings, is the largest container terminal operator in Russia. It owns and operates 7 marine container and multipurpose terminals in two key marine container gateways.

Source: https://www.portcalls.com/maersk-quits-russia-via-gpi-stake-sale-to-delo/