South East Shipping News

New all-water, Houston-Puerto Rico service to call Jacintoport

New all-water, Houston-Puerto Rico service to call Jacintoport

A new all-water service connecting Houston with San Juan, Puerto Rico, will launch May 29 when the U.S.-flagged containership National Glory departs the Port of Houston Authority's Jacintoport terminal on its maiden voyage.
The new 14-day service, which is being provided by National Shippers of America (NSA), is called "Isla Verde Express" and will provide customers with more transit options and supply chain flexibility in this "under-served" market, NSA officials say.
"After careful market analysis, we found that shippers west of the Mississippi River have few options to move cargo to and from Puerto Rico without having to use an East Coast port," said Torey Presti, NSA president. "A significant percentage of the mainland-Puerto Rico cargo is from Texas and the western states. By calling Houston, the service will offer a central U.S. location, which together with synchronized intermodal connections, enhances the options for shippers and keeps their supply chains predictable and steady."
In addition to its centralized location, Jacintoport provides a broad range of intermodal, warehousing and logistics support. The terminal will provide direct rail connections, warehouse and terminal services to NSA.
Value-added services include warehousing, crossdocking, transloading and bagging. Cargo will discharge from the vessel and be available both in Houston and San Juan early on Tuesdays for delivery to distribution centers or onward intermodal transport without a weekend delay.
Typical commodities shipped to Puerto Rico include resins, rice, beans, chemicals, beverages and produce. From Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland receives medical supplies, foodstuffs and beverages.
In addition to dry and refrigerated containers, the National Glory – a converted tweendecker – is configured to accommodate a wide range of oversize, out-of-gauge and project cargo.

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Brookings takes on the Panama Canal Fantasy -Guest opinion

Adie Tomer and Joseph Kane | May 17, 2013 4:25pm

Widening the Panama Canal and the Future of Global Trade Mapping

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Up and down the Atlantic coast, US ports are abuzz. Dredging machines, tunnel excavators, and highway pavers from Miami to New York are preparing metropolitan economies and their ports for a newly expanded Panama Canal. As the thinking goes, an expanded Canal promises bigger ships, bigger cargo loads--and each metro wants a piece of the bigger business.

 

But lost in this port-related arms race is what the newly-widened Panama Canal means for the US economy . Too many metropolitan areas simply assume they’ll immediately acquire new freight business when the expanded Canal opens, or that there will be more business at all. These billion-dollar assumptions ignore a more fundamental question: how and where will the Panama Canal affect US’ global goods trade?

Answering that question requires a broader view, one less predicated on ship size and more on economy size. It also requires metropolitan areas to gain a better understanding of their goods trading relationships, and how those relationships power their local economies.

It’s time to have a frank conversation about what investments like the Panama Canal mean for US trade and economic growth.

First, let’s start with a little context. The Panama Canal, set to celebrate its 100th birthday next year, is one of the world’s most important trade assets. It primarily helps connect US Atlantic and Gulf ports to their trading partners in Asia, Oceania, and South America. Driven by those major markets, the Canal already moves over 330 million tons of freight each year.

However, the Canal suffers from capacity constraints. The world's largest ships can no longer fit through certain locks, meaning the Canal was ill-prepared for its second century. In response, Panama initiated a major overhaul including two new locks, plus widening and deepening several existing channels. When complete in 2015, larger container ships will expand potential trade volumes between the Americas and Asia--and more seamlessly connect global markets in the process. The promise of these larger ships is the inspiration behind the Atlantic ports’ major capital projects.

Yet, as ports carry out such extensive projects, questions and skepticism linger over the future direction of freight movement and the long-term economic implications. How will ports handle the extra time it takes to load and unload the new mammoth ships? How will Pacific port investments in the United States and Canada counter the investments at the Atlantic ports? These uncertainties complicate analysts’ and policymakers’ abilities to identify exactly how the expansion will shift the precise location and scope of all freight flows.

The country and its metropolitan leaders need a way to remove these uncertainties. And it begins with a better understanding of our current goods trading relationships at the metropolitan scale.

As it stands, metropolitan data is scant. There is no geographically-consistent database of what goods metropolitan areas consume and what goods they export. Similarly, there is no database of geographic trading relationships with their domestic and international peers, or which ports facilitate the international side of the trade ledger

Imagine if the United States didn’t know how much electronics it imported from China, or how much oil it imported from the Middle East. That’s the situation metropolitan economic and freight leaders face.

It’s time to get a better handle on these regional trade relationships. Local, state, and federal officials should know which metropolitan areas trade the most goods with Asia, and are therefore the most sensitive to the Panama Canal’s capacity. They should also know how these goods flow between markets—whether they’re more reliant on Pacific or Atlantic ports, and how a capacity change on either coast could shift that equation.

This kind of knowledge also extends beyond just the Panama Canal. As other freight investments come online across the United States and the world, public and private sector leaders should have the statistical tools to know what’s at stake. A more thorough understanding of the country’s metropolitan trading network would help inform local investment decisions like we’re seeing in Baltimore and Norfolk. It would also inform a national freight strategy that prioritizes investments with the highest returns.

The metropolitan reaction to the Canal widening is a microcosm for what the country misses when it comes to freight planning. In a relatively fact-free zone, it’s easy for local ports to justify these major investments. But dredging a port or building a tunnel costs significantly more than simply upgrading our knowledge base.

Even with global trade slowing its growth since the Great Recession, there’s little question that goods volumes will continue to rise in the coming decades, whether through the Panama Canal or elsewhere. It’s time we make sure our metropolitan economies have the knowledge to succeed in that environment.

The Brookings Metropolitan Policy team will aim to address that knowledge gap over the coming year. Working with a team of outside experts, we've assembled a geographically-consistent, globally-oriented goods trade database. In turn, the analytics from that database will help us provide public and private sector leaders with a better understanding of exactly what, where, and how metropolitan areas trade goods and the implications for their local economies. We are excited to start sharing those results this fall.

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Florida Shipper, Journal of Commerce emerge in new forms - Update

 

 

In

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

even the best laid plans

 

In Nov. of 2009 we reported how the Florida Shipper was reduced to an online shipping schedule while its content was moved to the Journal of Commerce Magazine.

Almost every day someone comes looking for information on the relationship and gets the old news. Here is an update. Recently, as reported by us, the JOC Magazine has transformed into a primarily web based news source.

However, since 2009 when JOC assimilated the Florida Shipper, the former editor of the Florida Shipper has provided free of charge a blog and two news web sites that carry the load once carried by Florida Shipper Magazine.

Since you are here, you know how to find the subtitute Florida Shipper called South East Shipping News. We have also added a web site dedicated to Caribbean port issues called CaribbeanMaritimeExchange.org. And we have added a web site to help ports and terminals with the changes in federal grant regulations. It is called NDGrants.com

 Click the button How to use this data base for complete instructions.

JOC link is on top. What's left of Florida Shipper is at bluetoad.

http://www.joc-digital.com/joc-online/20090302/?u1=texterity&cache=1

 

http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?m=2471&l=1

Panama Canal loses another carrier to cheaper Suez

Panama Canal loses to cheaper Suez

 

MEXICO CITY, - Panama Canal authorities expect a 2.4 percent decline in cargo volume crossing the waterway this fiscal year after two major shipping companies rerouted vessels through the Suez Canal, the canal administrator said.

In March, Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company and the Panama Canal’s top customer, announced it would reroute services from Asia to the East Coast of the United States via the Suez Canal.

Though taking 11 days longer, the company says the move saves money as it can nearly double its load on bigger ships.

Adding to the pain, the canal lost out on three potential new services from APL, the container shipping unit of Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL).

The company is launching a new service from Asia to the United States’ eastern seaboard in May but has chosen to send three services through Suez, saying it is more profitable.

Nonetheless, three of the six services will go via Panama.

“It’s something we knew was going to happen,” said Jorge Quijano, who heads the semi-autonomous Panama Canal Authority, adding that the canal will lose about $40 million a year in revenue as a result.

Quijano said he expects one company to add a service on the route, although he declined to say which one.

Carrying about 5 percent of world trade, the Panama Canal is undergoing a $5.25 billion expansion, which will open six months later than planned in mid-2015.

A larger third lane will fit ships 1,200 feet (365 meters) long and 50 feet (15 meters) deep and carrying nearly three times as many containers.

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CHEC turns down Fort Augusta development - Jamaica Observer

CHEC turns down Fort Augusta development

Bottom line: New terminal facility at least five years away.

 

BY ALICIA DUNKLEY-WILLIS Senior staff reporter dunkleya@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

 

PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller said yesterday that the decision by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) not to proceed with plans to establish a new trans-shipment port at Fort Augusta -- now serving as the island's sole female prison -- is not an abandonment of the project.

"A few weeks ago, the principals of CHEC came back to the Port Authority of Jamaica indicating that after assessing the Fort Augusta location they no longer had interest in the project. The reason, Mr Speaker is not that they have lost interest in Jamaica; rather they have radically expanded the scope of their projected investment interest in Jamaica," the Prime Minister told Parliament during her contribution to the 2013/14 Budget Debate at Gordon House in Kingston.

 

 

"Based on their own plans, as well as the increased interests from other potential users of the port and logistics facilities, Fort Augusta was simply not big enough to provide the space they need," she said.

Nearly a year ago the Government announced that the Port Authority had signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with CHEC for that company to explore the feasibility of establishing a new trans-shipment port at Fort Augusta.

Simpson Miller said yesterday that the final location for the project, which is still to be determined, will be a direct investment of CHEC and its parent company, China Construction and Communications Company (CCCC), a Fortune 500 company.

The preliminary estimates of the mega investment are between US$1,200 million and US$1,500 million.

The hub is expected to consist of transshipment facilities, a logistic centre, industrial plants, a cement plant and perhaps a power plant.

Simpson Miller told the House that the extension to the MOU signed by CHEC and the Port Authority would run for another year to allow for all the relevant studies to be conducted, including environmental assessments.

"Let me assure the country that no special concessions will be given in that regard," she said.

The prime minister said the logistics hub is a central plank of the country's overall growth strategy and potentially represents US$9 billion of Foreign Direct Investment. "It has the prospect of generating tens of thousands of jobs in a wide variety of fields for the construction and operational phases," the prime minister said.

In the meantime, she said work continued apace on the roll-out of the enabling systems to realise the successful implementation of the initiative. "So far, we have issued request for proposals and have received positive responses," she added, noting that further details would be provided in the short term.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/CHEC-turns-down-Fort-Augusta-development_14178090#ixzz2S3oD1YtP

Caribbean Journal staff says nooooo China will spend $1.5 billion somewhere, not at Fort Augusta

By the Caribbean Journal staff

China Harbour Engineering Company Limited will invest between $1.2 and $1.5 billion USD in the development of a transshipment port in Jamaica, according to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.

The announcement comes after the state-owned company announced that, in a shift, it would not be establishing a transshipment port at Fort Augusta. China and Jamaica signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Fort Augusta project last year. The location of the new investment has not yet been determined.

The project would be a direct investment of CHEC and its parent company, China Construction and Communications Company.

“It will consist of transshipment facilities, a logistics centre, industrial plants, a cement plant and perhaps a power plant,” Simpson Miller said Tuesday in the House of Representatives. “The extension to the MOU, signed by CHEC and the Port Authority, will run for another year to allow for all the relevant studies to be conducted, including environmental assessments.”

The revised project will be “radically expanded” compared to the initial Fort Augusta project, Simpson Miller said, as Fort Augusta was not large enough to provide the necessary space.

It would be completed over a five-year time period and could employ up to 2,000 people during construction.

Tropical Shipping's Michael J. Pellicci takes new job as Chief Financial Officer of Cyalume Technology -Say what?

Cyalume Technologies Holdings, Inc. Appoints Michael J. Pellicci as Chief Financial Officer

Cyalume Technologies Holdings Inc.

CYLU | 4/30/2013 9:32:00 AM

Cyalume Technologies Holdings, Inc. Appoints Michael J. Pellicci as Chief Financial Officer

 

Most recently he held the positions of President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Tropical Shipping and Construction Company

 

Cyalume Technologies Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: CYLU) (“the Company” or “Cyalume”) today announced that it has appointed Michael J. Pellicci as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Pellicci will succeed Michael Bielonko, who will assume the responsibilities of Vice President of Finance.

Mr. Pellicci, 49, has extensive management experience with small- and medium-sized companies. Most recently he held the positions of President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Tropical Shipping and Construction Company Limited (“Tropical”), a containerized shipping company that was a subsidiary of Nicor and then AGL Resources (through the merger of Nicor and AGL Resources in December 2011). He joined Tropical in March 2006 as its Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Tropical, he was Senior Vice President – Finance and Planning, Treasurer & Chief Accounting Officer at Seabulk International, Inc., a shipping company operating in the tanker, towing and offshore segments. Seabulk was acquired by SEACOR Holdings Inc. in July 2005, and Mr. Pellicci remained with that company through January 2006 as Vice President – Finance. Previously, he held several financial positions including Director of Corporate Finance and Corporate Controller at Caraustar Industries, Inc., a manufacturer of recycled paperboard and converted products. Mr. Pellicci is a Certified Public Accountant. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from The Citadel and an M.B.A. from Georgia State University.

Cyalume’s President & CEO, Zivi Nedivi noted, “I am very pleased to welcome Mike Pellicci to our team. I believe that his wealth of financial experience coupled with his impressive roster of leadership positions in a variety of industries will greatly benefit Cyalume. Mike Bielonko has played an important role in Cyalume’s growth and evolution for the last several years, and I am happy that he has agreed to remain an active member of our management team."

Mr. Pellicci noted, “I look forward to becoming an integral part of Cyalume’s management team and continuing to grow the business through internal development and M&A activity. I am confident that this management team can execute upon the vision and plan Zivi has strategically laid out.”

About Cyalume Technologies Holdings, Inc.

Cyalume designs and manufactures non-pyrotechnic tactical products and training solutions for the world's militaries and law enforcement agencies, as well as for certain safety markets. Cyalume is the exclusive supplier to the U.S. and NATO-country militaries for all of their chemical light needs and operates manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and France. Through its subsidiary Cyalume Specialty Products, Cyalume also manufactures specialty chemical components for various markets.

At the 5th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Haiti hosts hemispheric leadership and emerges, almost magically, as a leader of Caribbean Affairs

At the 5th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Haiti hosts hemispheric leadership and emerges as a leader of Caribbean Affairs, according to, and I am not making this up, "Primature Haiti."

By Primature Haiti

Published: Friday, Apr. 26, 2013 - 4:20 pm

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, April 26, 2013 --/PRNewswire/ -- Haiti hosted the 5th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) this week in Port-au-Prince and the event proved to be an extraordinary show of support for President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe who have long noted that this Caribbean country is indeed headed in the right direction.  

By week's end nearly 20 heads of state or government had come and gone after signing the Summit's final declaration without incident.  At the closing ceremony it became clear that the Martelly/Lamothe government was also assuming surprising leadership role in Caribbean affairs and was quickly inserting Haiti into the most important hemispheric discussions

The ACS is a multilateral organization that groups nations of the broader Caribbean Basinincluding Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico and most of Central America.  Attending the ACS's Fifth Summit were President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico and Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia who extolled wide praise on the government of Haiti's ability to bring together such as wide group and for moving the country in a decidedly positive direction.  Also in attendance as an observer was President Sebastian Pinera of Chile among others.  

During the even Haiti showed off its new hotel infrastructure in Port-au-Prince as hundreds of Summit delegates and journalists covering the event were able to stay in comfortable first class accommodations.  Until very recently obtaining a hotel room in Port-au-Prince was difficult owing to the collapse of existing infrastructure during the 2010 earthquake and the lack of investment in new tourism infrastructure during the last three decades.  

In hosting the Summit, Haiti also showed that it is a safe destination.  Indeed hosting so many heads of government is a major security challenge.  Apart from the usual traffic jams generated by the movement of such important people, no major security concerns were evident around Port-au-Prince and the visiting presidents and prime ministers got in and out of town without problem. 

The most positive outcome for Haiti was the leadership role it has assumed in Caribbean affairs.  The ACS meeting –and the presence of so many heads of state—is a huge boost for a country that has been absent in regional and broader hemispheric affairs for the better part of its history. 

The success of the meeting coupled with its Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) -- the other major sub regional organization-- has provided Haiti with an extraordinary platform to showcase its achievements and to become a leading actor in Caribbean affairs.  Going into the last weekend of April, the Martelly/Lamothe government's slogan that Haiti is moving forward was slowly becoming a reality.

Contact

Office of the Prime Minister, Communications Unit

Gary Bodeau

(509) 44 11 11 11

gary.bodeau@primature.ht

 

 

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/04/26/5375106/at-the-5th-summit-of-the-association.html#storylink=cpy

JaxPort board selects Miami port's deputy director as new CEO

JaxPort board selects Miami port's deputy director as new CEO

Kuryla is the unanimous choice as the new chief executive.

Posted: April 22, 2013 - 10:03am  |  Updated: April 23, 2013 - 12:31am

J

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Juan Kuryla, 45, has worked at Miami’s port for 15 years.

By David Bauerlein

The deputy director of Miami’s port will put his stamp on Jacksonville’s docks after the JaxPort board unanimously selected him Monday as its next chief executive.

The board chose Juan Kuryla, 45, who has worked at Miami’s port for 15 years.

Kuryla said Jacksonville can become “one of the premier ports on the East Coast” and compete “neck and neck” with Savannah, Ga., for cargo container business. He also wants to bring more cruise ships to Jacksonville by utilizing the existing cruise terminal and would focus on increasing the port’s automobile shipping business.

The board chose Kuryla over interim JaxPort CEO Roy Schleicher and Michael E. Moore, former CEO of Global Container Terminals.

The board conducted the national search after Paul Anderson resigned in December to be chief executive of the Tampa Port Authority. Anderson had been paid $320,000 a year. Kuryla’s salary will be subject to negotiation. No contract has been signed.

Kuryla didn’t have as many years of maritime experience or the national profile boasted by some other candidates. It will be his first time as CEO of a port authority.

Board Vice Chairman Joe York said Kuryla stood out based on a one-on-one interview they did.

“I was blown away by his vision, his idea of what leadership looked like, what leadership would look like at JaxPort,” York said, “but more particularly how granular he got into specifics about things he would be doing right away.”

He said Kuryla’s work in Miami exposed him to every facet of a port authority. Miami is deepening its channel to 50 feet to capture super-sized cargo ships, and Jacksonville likewise wants a deeper harbor to compete for more cargo containers.

“I thought he demonstrated all the qualities we were looking for,” he said.

Board member John Falconetti said Kuryla has benefited from working as second-in-command to Bill Johnson, director of Miami’s port, and “the training that he’s received will serve Jacksonville well.”

Board member Reggie Gaffney said Kuryla has shown he can work effectively at all levels of government, including the complex political landscape of Miami-Dade politics.

“You can’t get more diverse than Miami,” he said.

The vote for Kuryla capped a two-week period during which board members met individually with eight candidates and decided Monday morning on a three-candidate shortlist. Kuryla, Schleicher and Moore went before the full board for question-and-answer sessions.

Schleicher, who has worked at JaxPort since 2001, also made the shortlist in 2010 when the board selected Anderson. In his appearance Monday, he told board members the port authority has greatly expanded international shipping connections and is best served by continuity at the top.

“The port is on the right track if you look at what we’ve done in the last 10 to 12 years,” he said.

State Rep. Lake Ray, who was one of the eight candidates invited for interviews, said he was disappointed he wouldn’t be able to put into action the port development plans he has put forward in the Legislature. Ray had won backing from several City Council members and fellow state legislators.

Other candidates in the running included former Virginia Port Authority executive director Jerry Bridges and former South Carolina State Ports Authority CEO Bernard Groseclose. Both ran ports that handle more cargo containers than Jacksonville.

Ivy Suter, who was CEO of Jacksonville-based Trailer Bridge from 2009 to 2011, and JPA senior director Eric Green also were in the final eight.

Board members made clear in their questioning Monday they want JaxPort to accelerate its revenue growth.

Board Chairman Jim Citrano said it impressed him that Kuryla is committed to increasing revenue at a faster rate than 3 percent. He said Kuryla’s track record in Miami has shown he can lead an agency.

“He knows the maritime industry,” Citrano said. “He walks the docks. It’s his passion.”

david.bauerlein@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4581

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2013-04-22/story/jaxport-board-selects-miami-ports-deputy-director-new-ceo#ixzz2RI1a0mbs

Kuryla escapes PortaMiami as JaxPort board picks him as new CEO

JaxPort board picks new CEO

Port of Miami Deputy Director Juan Kuryla chosen to run Jacksonville's port

Published On: Apr 22 2013 02:41:24 PM EDT  Updated On: Apr 22 2013 03:54:23 PM EDT

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Juan Kuryla

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

By unanimous vote, the Jacksonville Port Authority board of directors on Monday picked current Port of Miami deputy director Juan Kuryla as the next CEO for JaxPort.

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Kuryla has worked at the Port of Miami since 1998, receiving several promotions and taking on the deputy director job in 2009, where he oversees daily operations for Miami's cargo and cruise operations. Prior to joining port, Kuryla held management positions within other divisions of Miami-Dade County, including public works, finance and county manager’s office.

JaxPort's standing audit committee, made up of Vice Chairman Joe York, Treasurer John Anderson and member John Allen Newman, will begin negotiating a contract with Kuryla. The entire board must approve the employment agreement that is negotiated.

JaxPort has been looking for a new chief executive since Paul Anderson resigned last fall to become CEO of the Port of Tampa.

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