Alabama State Port Authority Names Beth Ann Frisher as Chief Commercial Officer

Feb. 26, 2021 - Alabama State Port Authority announced that Beth Ann Frisher has joined the Port Authority’s senior management team as the new Chief Commercial Officer, effective February 18, 2021.

Ms. Frisher will be responsible for all commercial activities involving sales, marketing and real estate development.

“Beth stood out amongst a very impressive list of qualified individuals seeking to lead this critical position at the Authority,” said John Driscoll, Director and CEO of the Port Authority.

Prior to joining the Port Authority, Ms. Frisher served as the head of business development and international marketing at the Port of Oakland.  Her experience also includes over 15years with AP Moller-Maersk in both Europe and North American directing sales and marketing, business process and pricing initiatives.

Ms. Frisher earned her Bachelor of Arts from Duke University and Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The Alabama State Port Authority owns and operates the State of Alabama’s deep-water port facilities at the Port of Mobile, currently the 11thlargest U.S. Seaport by total trade and generating $25.4 Billion in economic value statewide.

SOURCE: Alabama State Port Authority

Euroports Changshu Terminal Reaches Record Discharge and Delivery Volumes in January 2021

Feb. 24, 2021 - Euroports announced that its Changshu terminal, which handles wood pulp, paper, sawn timber and kaolin, kicked-off 2021 recording 1.1 million tons of terminal throughput in January.

The total discharge volume was over 600,000 mt working up to four vessels simultaneously — a new discharge volume record for the terminal.

Delivery volume was close to 500,000 mt which, on its own merit, is equally a record level, Euroports said.

Euroports congratulates its Changshu Operations Team for this great achievement and its new JV partner, ZPH, who made it possible and contributed strongly.

About Changshu Terminal

Already operating for more than 20 years, the Changshu terminal has set the standard for pulp and paper handling in China. It is the major point of entry into central China for pulp, and has become one of the largest pulp hubs in the world. Unique in China, this well-equipped, dedicated terminal offers the highest standards and a complete supply-chain package, all the way from vessel to mill.

SOURCE: Euroports

The Ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge to Merge, Creating Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Feb. 12, 2021 - The City of Antwerp and the City of Bruges have reached an agreement to merge their respective ports. The two-city agreement marks the start of a unification process that is expected to take a year to finalise. Once completed, the ports will operate under the name “Port of Antwerp-Bruges.”

As a result of the merger, the ports will be able to strengthen their position within the global supply chain and continue their course towards sustainable growth. Furthermore, the unified port will be more resilient to the challenges of the future and will take a lead in the transition towards a low-carbon economy.

The ambition is for Port of Antwerp-Bruges to become the world's first port to reconcile economy, people and climate.

“We are proud of this historic agreement, which seals a long-awaited unification,” said Annick De Ridder, port alderman and chair of the board of directors of the Antwerp Port Authority. “By joining forces, we are on the way to becoming Europe's global port, while at the same time reinforcing our position as the most important container port in terms of tonnage, a solid RoRo port and one of the largest break bulk ports in Europe.

The shared position of the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge within the global supply chain will receive a significant boost. The merged port will become the most important container port (157 million tonnes/year), one of the largest break bulk ports and the largest port for the throughput of vehicles in Europe.

Furthermore, the port will account for more than 15% of Europe’s liquid natural gas transited and it will of course remain Europe's most important chemical hub.

Finally, it will be the largest port for cruise ships in the Benelux. With a total throughput of 278 million tonnes per year, the unified port will be able to consolidate its leading position in the world.

The unification project is all about creating added value for the surrounding areas of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, for customers and stakeholders, as well as for the rest of Flanders. As part of a joint plan, the two ports have defined three strategic priorities – sustainable growth, resilience and leadership in the energy and digital transition.

Combined Strengths

Port of Antwerp-Bruges will combine the best of both worlds and will focus on the strengths of each site. The ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge are largely complementary. For example, Antwerp specialises in the handling and storage of containers, break bulk and chemical products, while Zeebrugge is a major port for RoRo traffic, container handling and the transhipment of liquid natural gas. Working more closely together will make it possible to consolidate sustainable growth, not only of each port's individual market share, but also of the joint market share of both ports together.

In order to maximise the added value of a unified port, Port of Antwerp-Bruges will seek to develop and make optimum use of the interconnectivity between the two ports. The transportation of goods by rail between the two sites will be bundled, estuary traffic (by inland vessels on the North Sea) will be optimised and pipeline connections will also be on the list of priorities.

Committed strategic investments, such as the new sea lock in Zeebrugge and the additional container capacity in Antwerp, will go ahead. Future investments will be evaluated from a unified operational perspective, so that both port platforms will benefit, and the port continues to meet its customers' expectations.

Port of Antwerp-Bruges intends to identify as many synergies as possible, to continue to build on the extensive support within society for this driver of Flanders' economy and to reinforce its position as a logistical, maritime and industrial centre. Not only within Flanders and Belgium, but on a European level and worldwide.

The transaction is subject to a number of customary suspensive conditions, including approval from the Belgian Competition Authorities. Both parties aim to finalise the transaction in the course of 2021.

SOURCE: Port of Antwerp

Metsä Fibre and Lehto Sign Preliminary Agreement on Construction of Port Warehouse for Kemi Bioproduct Mill

Feb. 8, 2021 - Metsä Fibre and the construction company Lehto Group have signed a preliminary agreement on the construction of a port warehouse for Metsä Fibre’s proposed bioproduct mill planned to be built in Kemi, Finland.

The warehouse, to be built in the Port of Ajos, Kemi, would serve as the new mill’s pulp warehouse before the products are shipped to customers. The floor area of the port warehouse would be nearly 40,000 square metres, and the construction would take around two years. Warehouse's high-ceiling elements would be manufactured from Metsä Group’s wooden elements.

The degree of Finnish origin in the delivery by the Kempele-based Lehto would be around 80 per cent.

“We want to work with the best professionals in each field to build a modern bioproduct mill in Kemi,” Jari-Pekka Johansson, Project Director of Metsä Fibre’s Kemi bioproduct mill. “We require our partners to commit to the goals of the project in terms of safety, schedules and quality. Lehto Group operates according to these principles and we have every chance of carrying out a successful project together.

“In addition to this, we appreciate Lehto's way of utilizing Metsä Group's wood products in the implementation of the warehouse. The port warehouse is an important part of the bioproduct mill and its logistics chain,” Johansson noted.

The construction phase of the port warehouse will be accelerated by Lehto’s modern production concepts of industrial building.

Jaakko Heikkilä, Group’s EVP of Business Premises for Lehto, explained, “Lehto is an experienced operator in warehouse and logistics projects. We have standard concepts which allow the rapid commencement of the project. We are also going to increase the efficiency of the site phase by using industrial prefabrication. The large wooden roof elements to be used in the project will be made at Lehto’s own factories in Finland.”

According to Metsä Fibre, the Kemi bioproduct mill – which would operate entirely without fossil fuels – would produce 1.5 million tonnes of softwood and hardwood pulp per year, as well as many other bioproducts. The investment would secure the existing 250 jobs at the current Kemi mill. Through its direct value chain, the bioproduct mill would employ a total of around 2,500 people in Finland, which would be 1,500 people more than the employment effect of the current pulp mill in Kemi.

The new bioproduct mill in Kemi would increase the value of Finnish exports by more than EUR 0.5 billion a year and the mill's annual income effect would be also EUR 0.5 billion a year.

The preconditions for making the decision on the EUR 1.5 billion investment in the Kemi bioproduct mill are expected to be in place in early 2021.

SOURCE: Metsä Fibre