Samskip adds Greece to its pan-European multimodal network

Samskip has added Greece to the list of countries in southern Europe that it now serves by road and rail.

It has appointed one of Greece's transport and logistics specialists, Carel, as its agent and has launched rail services linking Mannheim and Rotterdam with Athens and Thessaloniki. "With Greece's major port, Piraeus, in constant turmoil, shippers are looking with new interest at the scope for intermodal transport to and from Greece," explained Paul J Swaak, Director Strategic Development for Samskip Multimodal Container Logistics. "Shipping all-water from northern Europe to Greece is fraught with problems and trucking becomes more expensive every time there is a rise in the price of a gallon of crude oil. Moving cargo in our 45-foot palletwide containers by rail now makes a very competitive and environmentally friendly alternative, faster than sea and cheaper than road transport.

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Hitachi completes first Wärtsilä RT-flex engine

Hitachi Zosen Diesel & Engineering celebrated the completion of its first Wärtsilä RT-flex common-rail marine diesel engine at its Ariake Machinery Works in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.

Hitachi is the eleventh licensed engine builder to manufacture Wärtsilä RT-flex engines that feature a maximum continuous power of 9960 kW (13,560 bhp) at 124 rpm. The 6-cylinder Wärtsilä RT-flex50-B engine built by Hitachi will be delivered to Nanjing Wujiazui Shipbuilding in China for installation onboard a 1085teu containership being built for a German owner. The company has further orders for a total of 26 RT-flex50 engines from shipyards in China and Brazil. Wärtsilä RT-flex marine low-speed engines incorporate the latest electronically-controlled common-rail technology for fuel injection and valve actuation. The new technology is said to provide great flexibility in engine setting, bringing benefits in lower fuel consumption, lower minimum running speeds, smokeless operation at all running speeds, and better control of other exhaust emissions. Wärtsilä RT-flex engines are available in eight cylinder sizes covering a power range from 5650 to 84,420 kW. It is designed to meet the market needs for outstanding reliability, high efficiency, compactness, optimized manufacturing, and environmental requirements.

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Colombo Dockyard to build shipping vessels for GIL

Indian shipping major Greatship (India) Ltd (GIL) has placed a multi-million dollar order for two support vessels to be constructed by the Colombo Dockyard Ltd in Sri Lanka.

The orders by GIL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Great Eastern Shipping, are to be completed by January 2011, a company statement said. The vessels are designed both for operating as advanced PSVs (Platform Supply Vessels) with enhanced accommodation (50 pax), DP2 capability, as well as ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Support Vessels. This order is in line with GIL's strategy of tapping the burgeoning sub-sea construction markets, both globally as well as in India, the statement said. GIL presently owns and operates three PSVs, two in India and one in the North Sea, and two AHTSV, one in India, and one in the Middle East. GIL and its subsidiaries also have an order book of 16 vessels and one rig under construction - two PSVs in Norway, two AHTSVs (Anchor Handling Tug Supply Vessels) in Sri Lanka, four AHTSVs in Batam free trade zone in Indonesia and four MPSVs in Singapore. It also has order book for two MSVs in India, two MPSVs in Sri Lanka, and a premium 350 jack up rig in Singapore. Colombo Dockyard PLC, which is situated within the Colombo port, is Sri Lanka's largest engineering facility leading in the business of ship repairs, shipbuilding, heavy engineering and offshore engineering.

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Port of Felixstowe expansion commences

The Port of Felixstowe, UK announced the commencement of construction work on Phase I of its Felixstowe South Reconfiguration scheme.

The first 440 metres of quay are scheduled to be available by April 2010, with the entirety of Phase I being fully operational by September of that year. This initial phase will create an additional 730 metres of deep-water quay, dredged to 16 metres alongside. The quay will be equipped with seven quayside cranes, able to accommodate the largest container ships in the world. "After a lengthy consent process, the port is pleased to finally be able to start construction of the Felixstowe South Reconfiguration," said Chris Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports UK (HPUK), which owns the Port of Felixstowe. "There is a shortage of deep-water container terminal capacity, and this development confirms that Felixstowe will be the first major UK port to provide much-needed additional capacity for deep-sea container operators. Phase II is currently expected to be operational by 2014. The new development, when completed, will create a total of four new deep-water berths, with a total length of 1,285 metres, and will be equipped with 13 ship-to-shore gantry cranes. This will provide overall capacity of 5.3 million TEU per annum at Felixstowe alone. The multi-million-pound construction contract has been awarded to Costain Limited. Landguard Terminal will remain operational during the construction of Phase I, and will continue to service its existing customers.
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146 vessels to boost Petrobras fleet

Brazilian state-run oil company Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) has announced a massive expansion of its offshore vessel fleet.

Petrobras opened a tender for 24 service vessels on Monday, but this is just the start of a 146-vessel expansion plan that will include tugs, AHTSs, spill control vessels and platform anchoring vessels. In an effort to boost local production, Petrobras will build a significant portion of the vessels at Brazilian yards.

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