Port of Savannah Adding 55 Hybrid Yard Cranes

March 30, 2023 – The Georgia Ports Authority has agreed to spend $170 million on 55 hybrid-engine rubber-tired gantry cranes to outfit the Port of Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, as it is redeveloped into an all-container facility.

“This significant investment in new equipment will help prepare the Port of Savannah to handle more ships and cargo while maintaining the world-class service our customers have come to expect,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “These new machines will expand our capabilities, operate at lower cost and leave a smaller carbon footprint than conventional diesel cranes.”

The hybrid machines will exclusively operate off electric battery power, with diesel generators running only to recharge batteries. This will reduce fuel consumption by an estimated 47 percent compared to all-diesel machines. Per year, that is a reduction of 8,800 gallons of diesel per crane, or nearly 500,000 gallons annually across the Ocean Terminal fleet. This will result in a fuel purchase savings of more than $1.6 million per year at current rates.

The new cranes reduce emissions by half compared to conventional diesel cranes. At an annual average of 4,000 operating hours per RTG, the hybrid engines will avoid yearly emissions of 127 tons per crane, or nearly 7,000 tons across the 55-RTG fleet.

“With every infrastructure expansion, the Georgia Ports Authority seeks to ensure its operations progress toward improved long-term sustainability,” said GPA Board Chairman Joel Wooten. “Economic development, environmental stewardship, governance, and employee and community engagement are all important facets in that effort.”

The gantry cranes will use special “whisper” movement alarms that sound like static, rather than the typical three-tone alarms. The whisper alarms don’t penetrate long distance, but do provide safety for nearby personnel, effectively making the machines quieter and reducing noise emissions. The combination of hybrid power and quieter alarms will help control the sound of operations for neighboring communities. The new cranes can work stacks that are six containers high and seven wide – one container wider than GPA’s current largest RTGs. Wider stacks mean fewer rows and a denser, more efficient use of space. The RTGs currently serving Ocean Terminal will be repurposed in other areas of operation.

The cranes are one part of the renovation of the 200-acre Ocean Terminal. The Authority is also establishing two big ship berths at the facility, and improving the paving surface to hold container stacks. These projects will bring to six the number of neopanamax vessels the Port of Savannah can handle simultaneously. To work the larger ships, GPA will add eight new all electric ship-to-shore cranes at Ocean Terminal by 2026. The taller ship-to-shore cranes will replace three older cranes that are not suited to handling neopanamax vessels. When complete, the terminal’s annual capacity will reach 2 million twenty-foot equivalent container units.

A key partner for the Georgia Ports Authority is the Georgia Department of Transportation. GDOT will play an important role in the terminal’s completion and traffic control around Ocean Terminal.

“GDOT is currently reviewing plans to route port traffic directly from the terminal onto U.S. 17/Interstate 16, avoiding near-port streets, which could minimize community impacts,” said Susan Gardner, senior director of operations and projects. “Directing trucks in this manner will expedite cargo, while preventing unnecessary traffic in neighboring communities.”

Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 561,000 jobs throughout the state annually, and contribute $33 billion in income, $140 billion in revenue and $3.8 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy.

SOURCE: Georgia Ports Authority

Klabin Officially Inaugurates Port Terminal in Paranaguá

March 24, 2023– Klabin on March 22 made official the start of operations at the Klabin Port Terminal (PAR-01), located on the wharf commercial center at the Port of Paranaguá, in Paraná, Brazil.

With the capacity to receive one million tons of pulp and paper per year, the Terminal is part of the investment package in logistics made by the company in Paraná in recent years. With the operation, the unloading of short and long fiber pulp, fluff pulp and paper, from the Puma Units, located in Ortigueira (PR), and from the Monte Alegre Unit, in Telêmaco Borba (PR), can be carried out within the Port of Paranaguá.

With a structure that covers an area of ​​27,530 m², leased by Klabin for 25 years, in an auction held in August 2019, the new operation also brings productivity and competitiveness to Klabin in breakbulk, a mode of maritime cargo transport without the use of containers, which ships large volumes directly inside the ships, allowing customers to be served on a large scale and with operational excellence.

In terms of sustainability, the location of the new terminal has a direct rail connection to the Klabin factory in Ortigueira (PR), allowing for a reduction in truck traffic, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and benefits road traffic from Paranaguá. In addition, the terminal will have solar panels that will produce around 270 MWh/year, making the site's energy generation more sustainable and reinforcing Klabin's commitment to its ESG agenda.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by state authorities, such as the governor of Paraná, Ratinho Junior, the State Secretary for Infrastructure and Logistics, Fernando Furiatti, the CEO of APPA (Administration of the Ports of Paranaguá and Antonina), Luiz Fernando Garcia da Silva, in addition to the National Secretary of Ports and Waterway Transport, Fabrizio Pierdomenico.

On the occasion, members of Klabin's board reinforced the importance of the Terminal as part of the Company's business strategy.

“The Port of Paranaguá is one of the most important in Brazil, in addition to being the main transport route for Klabin's production in the State. The new terminal will bring operational efficiency to the Company, guaranteeing high levels of logistics productivity in addition to intensifying the development of the logistics infrastructure in Brazil,” Klabin said.

With the operation, Klabin consolidates its logistics strategy in the State of Paraná, bringing even more competitiveness, flexibility and sustainability to its operations, in addition to being prepared for future expansions. In 2021, the company invested BRL 300 million in the Ortigueira Container Terminal, operated in partnership with Brado Logística and the Paranaguá Container Terminal (TCP). The project has the capacity to store 2,000 containers and has doubled the Company's container outflow capacity in Paraná.

SOURCE: Klabin

Prince Rupert Port Authority Announces Milestone on Ridley Island Export Logistics Project

March 2, 2023 - The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) announced today that the Ridley Island Export Logistics Project (RIELP) has reached a significant milestone with the receipt of its final determination of the Federal environmental effects evaluation review.

The Federal Authorities have determined, in accordance with the requirements of Section 82 of the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), that the Ridley Island Export Logistics Project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. This concludes the Federal environmental review process, which is a prerequisite for the Federal Authorities to consider the required authorizations for the project to proceed.

Following receipt of required permits, early works are planned to begin in early March, with tree clearing and site preparation activities. PRPA continues to work toward making a Final Investment Decision on the project with its commercial partners, expected later this year.

Planned for the southern end of Ridley Island, the export logistics complex will be an integrated ecosystem of large-scale bulk and breakbulk transload facilities, intermodal rail yard, and a container storage yard. The development will create an innovative and competitive transloading facility for commodities such as plastic pellets, cereal grains, specialty agriculture crops, lumber, and pulp to be loaded directly from rail into containers for export, creating 400,000 TEUs of export capacity in the first phase. The new export logistics facility will increase efficiencies in export supply chains, maximizing value to Canadian exporters while supporting the substantial growth of the intermodal business at the Port of Prince Rupert.

The Ridley Island Export Logistics Project is a vital component of the Port of Prince Rupert’s development plan for fully integrating intermodal activities between terminal, logistics and rail. The environmental benefits of the export logistics project include the densification of transload activities into a single location on Ridley Island to minimize land impacts, and proximity to Fairview Container Terminal via the dedicated Fairview-Ridley Connector Corridor to minimize container truck movements and emissions, while maximizing rail usage on common infrastructure.

For additional information and resources about the RIELP project that were made available during the public comment period, please visit here.

SOURCE: Prince Rupert Port Authority

DP World to Invest $35 Million to Boost Container Capacity in Brazil in 2023

March 15, 2023 - DP World announced plans to invest US$35 million in 2023 to expand and modernize its facilities located on the left bank of Brazil’s Port of Santos. The port is one of the largest and most modern private multi-purpose port terminals in the country.

With the investment, the company plans to increase annual movement capacity from 1.2 million TEUs (unit equivalent to a twenty-foot container) to 1.4 million TEUs and expand the size of the quay from 1,100 meters to 1,300 meters. The terminal currently inhabits 845,000 square meters, with an additional 130,000 square meters available for expansion.

The port is also home to extensive cellulose pulp operations.

“Investing in the Port of Santos is a calculated move that reflects the port’s position as a critical artery for transportation and logistics in the region,” said Fabio Siccherino, CEO of DP World Santos. “We have a strong advantage in that the Port’s location – with surplus area and rail access – provides the opportunity to expand capacity. As a result, we have the flexibility to develop new projects that will support our cargo diversification strategy, helping to meet the needs of national economy sectors and positioning Brazilian products to be more competitive in the global market.”

The project, which aims to ensure that port capacity remains ahead of growing demand, marks DP World’s third round of investment since operations began in Brazil in July 2013. To date, more than R$3 billion has been invested in the implementation and expansion of the terminal, which is strategically located with access to land, road and rail, enabling large-scale multi-purpose operations.

SOURCE: DP World