Four new box berths opened in Tianjin

Four new container berths with an annual capacity of 1.7 million TEU have come on stream at Tianjin port.

The new berths are being operated by Tianjin Port Alliance International Container Terminal which is a joint venture between Tianjin Port Group, APM Terminals Tianjin International, OOCL and PSA China. The new berths have opened amid a rapid increase in throughput volumes at the port. In a related development, the Jingtang port area of Tangshan in Hebei Province has added five new 30,000 to 70,000 tonne berths, bringing the total number of berths inside the Jingtang port area to 23.

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Kongsberg develops simulator for LNG plant

Kongsberg Maritime's D-SPICE simulation tool has been used to develop and implement a sophisticated Operator Training Simulator for the gas treatment and liquefaction plant at National Grid Transco's (NGT) Glenmavis storage and peak shaving LNG plant in Scotland.

Delivered in February 2007, the D-SPICE based Operator Training Simulator features a dynamic simulation model that covers the Selexol gas pre-treatment plant as well as the liquefaction plant, which is based on the Black and Veatch PRICO LNG liquefaction process. The inherent flexibility of the D-SPICE system enables it to be used at all stages of a plant's development including concept, design, construction, start-up and operations, and for a multitude of applications including expert studies, engineering studies, DCS checkout simulation, operator training and production management.

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Two Russian warships make port call in S. Korea

Two Russian warships arrived in South Korea's southern port of Busan on Wednesday in a show of friendly ties between the two nations' navies.

The warships, a 4,000-ton Peresvet landing ship and a 1,500-ton SB-37 rescue vessel carry a total of 264 crew members including 18 Russian naval academy cadets, the South Korean Navy said in a press release.

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COSCO to buy 412 dry-bulk ships

China COSCO Holdings Co surged in Hong Kong trading after reaching an agreement to buy the world's largest fleet of dry-bulk ships for US$4.58 billion in cash and stock.

The shipping line will buy 412 vessels from its parent China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co, it said in a Hong Kong stock exchange statement last day. China COSCO, Asia's largest container shipping line, wants to add dry-bulk vessels as China's surging imports of raw materials have caused rates to double in the past year.

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Evergreen to open shipyard in China

Taiwan-based Evergreen Group, the world's fourth largest containerized freight shipping company, plans to open a major shipyard in southeastern China, states a Taiwanese newspaper.

Evergreen plans to open the shipyard in Fujian Province opposite Taiwan in a joint venture to produce 350,000-ton container ships there by 2011. Evergreen Chairman Chang Yung-fa told Lloyd's List that Evergreen would begin investing in a Quanzhou City shipyard in Fujian to churn out large-scale cargo ships with a capacity of 7,000 to 8,000 TEUs.

Although Evergreen typically orders its cargo ships from Japanese shipyards, China is expected to surpass both Japan and South Korea for container ship orders by 2011, the same year Evergreen's shipyard in Quanzhou goes online.

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