The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has released its Port State Control (PSC) Annual Report for 2021, which shows that detention and deficiency rates per inspection have continued to remain low, according to AMSA’s release.

AMSA Executive Director of Operations, Michael Drake, said the authority’s reputation for having a zero-tolerance approach to non-compliance with internationally agreed standards, continued to have a positive influence on the quality of ships being brought to Australia.

The 2021 detention rate sat at just 5.6 per cent, down slightly from the 2020 detention rate of 5.9 per cent. The 2021 deficiency rate per inspection was just 2.2, almost on par with the 2020 rate of 2.1.

Source: https://en.portnews.ru/news/333572/

According to the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the $3 billion grant will prove vital in establishing innovative projects at ports to boost resiliency, expand cargo-handling capacity, and reduce emissions across supply chains.

Alongside these funds, the Inflation Reduction Act contains other provisions ports can benefit from – including another $2.6 billion allocated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for protecting coastal communities and marine habitats from extreme weather; and a $1 billion grant for the replacement of heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emissions alternatives.

“The creation of a federal grant programme to reduce emissions and electrify ports demonstrates the federal government’s unprecedented attention to port infrastructure needs,” said the AAPA

“This federal grant programme will signal to equipment manufacturers and private investors that this electrification technology at ports will be ubiquitous in the coming years.”

The bill awaits approval from the House, which is expected to pass it as early as this week before US President Joe Biden can sign it into law.

“This bill makes the largest investment ever in combatting the existential crisis of climate change. […] The House should pass this as soon as possible and I look forward to signing it into law,” said President Biden in a recent announcement.

In July, US Congress representatives for the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have proposed the Clean Shipping Act, the first legislation in the US tailored to target shipping’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The Clean Shipping Act of 2022 is modelled off of the European Union’s Fit for 55 regulatory framework for shipping.

Source: https://www.porttechnology.org/news/us-inflation-reduction-act-grants-3-billion-for-greener-ports/

• The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is weighing whether it will extend the operations of the Shippers’ Protection Office (SPO) once the COVID-19 state of calamity expires in September

• DOTr Undersecretary for Maritime Elmer Francisco Sarmiento said DOTr will evaluate the situation first, as shipping costs, particularly destination charges, remain high

• An evaluation will find out how effective the SPO has been in resolving complaints

• No definite date has been targeted for the evaluation but Sarmiento said it is a priority

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will evaluate relevance of the Shippers’ Protection Office (SPO), whether its operations will be extended once the COVID-19 state of calamity expires in September, according to a DOTr official.

Undersecretary for Maritime Elmer Francisco Sarmiento, in text messages to PortCalls, said DOTr will evaluate the situation first “before we decide to lift the SPO or not,” noting that shipping costs, especially destination charges, “are still high.”

The SPO was created in 2020 through DOTr Department Order No. 2020-008 as part of temporary measures to protect the public during the state of national calamity “from the impact and effects of exorbitant and unreasonable shipping fees resulting in increased prices for domestic consumers.”

The state of calamity under Proclamation No. 1281 will expire on September 12, unless it is lifted before that date or extended. Health Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has ordered a review of the state of calamity proclamation.

Sarmiento said he will evaluate how effective the SPO has been, noting:  “I’ll have to hear from complainants their side if the SPO is effective.”

He said he has no definite date yet on when the evaluation would start, but noted it is a priority.

Under DO 2020-008, the SPO is mandated to protect domestic and international shippers “against unreasonable fees and charges imposed by domestic and international shipping lines.” The SPO should look into “all complaints and issues related to the rates, charges, practices and operations of international and domestic shipping lines in the country.”

The SPO is headed by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager as chair and administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) as vice chair. The SPO Secretariat is headed by PPA’s Port Operations and Services Department.

Port users and stakeholders have long asked government to oversee operations of and charges levied by international shipping lines. No government agency has direct jurisdiction over these carriers, although liners’ agents/local offices are required to register with MARINA and to comply with Customs and tax rules.

There had been attempts in recent years to regulate local shipping charges, but all efforts have fallen through.

PPA earlier told PortCalls that as of June 9, 2022 the SPO received 88 complaints and inquiries since its establishment in 2020. Four of the 88 complaints had been addressed. Of these, 18 were resolved/closed, 10 referred to other government agencies, three awaiting comments from subjects of complaints, two for issuance of special orders, and 51 returned for non-compliance with the prescribed format.

Of the total, 68 were complaints against international shipping lines for unreturned container deposit, uncollected container refund, detention charges, demurrage and storage charges, cleaning fees, destination charges, container imbalance charges, empty return location, and unreleased delivery order/container release order.

Other complaints were against terminal operators, a domestic shipping line, a freight forwarder, a trucker, a container yard operator, and a bunkering service provider, according to a 2021 presentation by PPA.

There were also complaints on the increase in sea/air freight charges, change of port of discharge, and wrong gross weight. – Roumina Pablo

Source: https://www.portcalls.com/dotr-to-evaluate-relevance-of-shippers-protection-office/

The company’s net profit came at Rs 1,072 crore ($134 million) for the first quarter of FY22-23, against the Rs 1,278 Cr ($160 million) from the same period a year ago.

Consolidated EBITDA (excluding Gangavaram) grew by 11 per cent to Rs 3,005 Cr ($377 million), while revenue stood almost flat year-on-year at Rs 4,638 Cr ($582 million) – given the Rs 725 Cr ($9 million) decline in revenue from the SEZ business segment.

APSEZ reported that this decline was in line with its expectations.

Adani added that the overall strong performance was delivered by both its businesses – ports and logistics.

During Q1 FY23, the company handled 90.89 MMT of cargo, which is an approximately 8 per cent year-on-year growth. The growth was primarily led by dry cargo (11.2 per cent increase), followed by containers (3.2 per cent), and liquids including crude (5.6 per cent).

Mundra port continues to be the largest container handling port with 1.65 million TEU versus 1.48 million TEU managed by JNPT port during the quarter. Mundra crossed 50 MMT of cargo volumes in the initial 111 days of FY23.

Ports EBITDA grew 18 per cent to Rs 2,885 Cr ($362 million).

Revenue from the logistics business stood at Rs 360 Cr ($45 million), a growth of 34 per cent on account of improving container and terminal traffic, and the bulk segment with overall increase in the rolling stock.

Logistics business EBIDTA grew by 56 per cent to Rs 96 Cr ($12 million). According to the company, this was aided by increase in cargo volumes, cargo diversification, elimination of loss- making routes and operational efficiency measures.

Gangavaram Port reported revenue of Rs 414 Cr ($52 million) and EBIDTA of Rs 280 Cr ($35 million) in Q1 FY23, although these numbers are currently not consolidated in APSEZ results.

“Q1 FY23 has been the strongest quarter in APSEZ’s history, with a record cargo volume and highest ever quarterly EBITDA. This is a 11 per cent jump on a robust performance in the corresponding quarter last year that witnessed the post-Covid demand surge,” commented Karan Adani, CEO and Whole Time Director of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.

“The company continued this strong performance in July and recorded 100 MMT of cargo through-put in the initial 99 days of FY23, a feat never achieved before.”

As Adani is set to commission two new terminals in the coming months, this growth will gain more momentum according to the company. The container terminal at Gangavaram Port will become operational next month, while the 5 MMT LNG terminal at Dhamra will be ready by the end of the year.

“Our strategy of connecting port gate to customer gate through an integrated utility model is starting to yield results,” added Adani.

“We are confident of achieving our full year guidance of 350-360 MMT cargo volumes and EBITDA of Rs 12,200-12,600 Cr ($1,5 billion). APSEZ remains committed to its philosophy of ensuring sustainable growth in partnership with our key stakeholders.”

Most recently, Adani Ports and Israeli firm Gadot and won the tender for the sale of Haifa port.

The group will buy the port for a sum of $1.18 billion. Adani Ports will have a 70 per cent stake and Gadot will hold the remaining 30 per cent.

Source: https://www.porttechnology.org/news/adani-ports-profit-dips-16-per-cent-amid-rise-in-volumes/

The managing authority has announced the ship named ZEN-HUA 35 arrived in Lagos on 5 August.

The ship conveyed the second batch shipment, comprising two Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes with 115 packages of accessories and five Rubber-Tyred-Gantry (RTG) cranes with 270 packages of accessories from Shanghai.

The news follows the delivery of three Super Post Panamax Ship-to-Shore cranes and 10 RTGs a month ago. The number of cranes has now totalled five STS cranes and 15 RTG cranes.

The management added that yard equipment for the port is expected to be shipped shortly.

Lekki port is nearing completion as construction works are slated to be concluded by September.

Dredging and reclamation work is 98.43 per cent done, while work on the quay wall is 96.07 per cent finished.