The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether tax exemptions granted under Italian law to ports are in line with EU State aid rules. The Commission also welcomes the commitment made by Spain to abolish the tax exemption benefitting Spanish ports as from 2020, allowing the Commission to close the procedure concerning Spain. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “Ports are key infrastructure for economic growth and regional development. Our competition rules reflect that and allow Member States to invest in ports, creating jobs ...

The operator of Turkey’s Mersin International Port is raising funds by issuing a new US$ 600 million five-year bond backed by the EBRD. The Bank has invested US$ 90million in the issuance, helping attract a host of investors, despite a challenging market environment in Turkey. The proceeds of the bond will help refinance Mersin International Port’s 2013 bond, which matures in August 2020, will support ongoing operations of the port and will provide additional stability to the company’s balance sheet while also financing general corporate needs. The continued financing of ...

President Jair Bolsonaro and Economy Minister Paulo Guedes want to strengthen trade relations with China. Guedes said the creation of a free trade area between the two countries is under negotiation. The minister talked about the issue during the seminar of the New Brics Development Bank (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) in Brasilia. The Brics summit is taking place in Brasilia, hosted by president Bolsonaro. “We are talking to China about the possibility of creating the free trade area with China as well, while talking about joining the ...

A workshop event in preparation for Brexit was hosted by the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) with the support of the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO). The aim of the workshop was to allow shipping and port companies, importers and exporters to discuss maritime connectivity, trade patterns and capacity demands in a no-deal Brexit scenario. The workshop took place in Dublin on 4th September in order to create further opportunities for a dialogue between importers, exporters, ports, and shipping and logistics companies. According to the IMDO, the workshop ...

The Long Beach-Qingdao Sister City Association hosted its annual fall luncheon on Friday, an event created to highlight the cordial relationship between the two coastal cities and foster continuing good will between their peoples. Established in 1985, the mission of the Long Beach-Qingdao Sister City Association is to promote understanding between Long Beach, California, in the United States, and Qingdao, Shandong Province, in China by pledging to assist exchange and trade between the people of the two cities. “The most important trade route for the United States is the trans-Pacific ...

Iran has developed the technology of manufacturing port equipment and shipping containers used for exports, said the minister of roads and urban development. Speaking in a local ceremony in the central Iranian province of Isfahan on Friday, Mohammad Eslami added this was achieved by relying on domestic capabilities and capacities and unlocking potentials of the country’s new technology-based firms (NTBFs), Mehr News Agency reported. He noted that by taking their containers out of Iran, foreign shipping companies created serious problems for the Islamic Republic’s maritime industry in exports sector, adding ...

The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) is on track to better last year’s cargo handling volume during the 2019-20 fiscal, Chairman Vinit Kumar said on Saturday. The port authority has so far handled 45 million tonne of cargo, a rise of 4-4.5 per cent over the corresponding period last fiscal, he said. “We are hopeful of surpassing last year’s cargo handling volume at the Kolkata port and Haldia dock this fiscal. So far, KoPT has handled 45 million tonne of cargo,” he said at the CII Logistics Colloquium here. In the ...

For the third year in a row, Keelung has received the EcoPort certification from the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO), reports said Friday (Nov. 15). The harbor on Taiwan’s north coast was the only port in all of Asia to receive the award this year, with a total of 113 ports in 25 countries being chosen. Keelung has become a model other Asian harbors could learn from, CNA quoted officials as saying. The transformation of a warehouse into an environmentally friendly building and plans for an ecosystem park zone were ...

A specialized Yemeni government committee confirmed that measures taken on port revenues by authorities managed to collect about 52 million dollars in three months, topped by the port of Hodeidah, with nearly 23 million dollars. The economic committee said in a statement that these funds collected from imports and in port revenues will help pay the salaries of public service employees in areas controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi militias. The payments will be made according to a UN plan. It also stressed that these funds will contribute to financing the ...

Dominion Energy’s Cove Point LNG Terminal loaded its 100th commercial liquefied natural gas (LNG) ship on Monday, November 11, nineteen months after the facility entered commercial service for natural gas liquefaction and export. Located in Lusby, Maryland, the Cove Point LNG Terminal became the second largest LNG export facility in the continental U.S. – and the first on the East Coast – when it entered commercial operation on April 9, 2018. Cove Point produces LNG under 20-year contracts for ST Cove Point, a joint venture of Sumitomo Corporation and Tokyo ...

Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh L Mandaviya inaugurated projects worth Rs 61.39 crore at Kamarajar Port on Friday. These include newly constructed parking yard, new gate complex which will streamline traffic movement at the port and also guest house. The minister inspected various cargo handling terminals of Kamarajar Port. He held a detailed review regarding performance of the port with Sunil Paliwal, Chairman- cum-Managing Director, Kamarajar Port. ‘Assist in release of sailor’ Sailors’ Society has urged Union Shipping Ministry to assist the release of Indian shipmaster Captain Jagvir ...

ESPO congratulates Port of Guadeloupe for obtaining its first EcoPorts’ environmental management standard (PERS). The PERS certificate was handed over to the port during the ESPO General Assembly by the ESPO Chairman, Eamonn O’Reilly, the ESPO Secretary General, Isabelle Ryckbost and the EcoPorts Coordinator, Sotiris Raptis. Being PERS certified requires amongst others that the port increases transparency by making its environmental report publicly available. It also implies that the port is effectively monitoring the environmental challenges and is implementing an improved environmental management. 33 out of the 115 EcoPorts members ...

GCT Canada was proud to welcome the MSC Meline as the first vessel to use GCT Deltaport’s Shore Power system on November 14, 2019. Completed in early 2019, this transformative technology allows vessels to plug into the clean electrical power grid at GCT Deltaport and turn off their auxiliary diesel engines while docked. This eliminates up to 95 tonnes of air pollutants per vessel – equivalent to removing 20 vehicles off the road for one year. This collaboration was enabled through the Government of Canada Shore Power Technology for Ports ...

Quicker, safer, and less administration. These were some of the key outcomes when the Gothenburg Port Authority recently launched a data system designed to coordinate and monitor work at the Port of Gothenburg Energy Port. The ultimate outcome is more rapid and more efficient handling of goods. The Port of Gothenburg Energy Port is the largest open access energy terminal in Sweden, handling more than 20 million tonnes of energy products annually. The 24 berths at the Energy Port can receive up to 2,500 vessels each year. On land, the ...

Essar Bulk Terminal Ltd (EBTL), a part of Essar Ports, said it has completed work on the Passenger Ferry Terminal that has paved the way for a cruise-based passenger ferry service, commencing today, between Hazira Port in Surat and Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai. The Hazira-based terminal will also lead to ferry services being offered on other routes in the future, revolutionising coastal transportation in India. Phase I of the terminal project will focus on the movement of passengers between Hazira in Surat to India’s financial capital, Mumbai. While the ...