NC Ports live with N4 for general cargo

North Carolina has gone live with N4 for its general cargo operations as part of a project to implement N4 for containers and general cargo

NC Ports will extend N4 to its container operations next year

Navis is moving forward with the development of N4 to handle breakbulk and general cargo, which will enable customers to run a mixed cargo operation with the one version of its N4 TOS.

This is something North Carolina Ports wanted to do when it selected Navis for its Wilmington and Morehead City port facilities and its inland terminal in Charlotte, NC. Navis has now announced that North Carolina Ports has gone live with the N4 General Cargo and N4 Billing Modules as the first stage of its full N4 implementation.

“With a combined ability to handle four million tons of general cargo throughput and growing, NC Ports needed a system that would help them operate more efficiently and would be able to scale with their business. As Navis currently offers a comprehensive general cargo solution and is accelerating its investments in this area, NC Ports knew Navis would be the right fit to achieve its business goals,” Navis stated.

“This year we have hit several milestones including handling our largest capacity vessel to date at our Wilmington location,” said Bill Corcoran, Chief Information Officer, North Carolina Ports. “With Navis, we are excited to grow our volumes to support the economic growth in North Carolina and handle the increasing regional demands.”

NC Ports needed to replace its legacy general cargo system by the end of October 2019. To meet the tight timeframe, the NC Ports team started N4 training including fundamentals, billing, general cargo and advanced admin training in June, while configuration was occurring at the same time. The N4 General Cargo and Billing implementations were successfully completed in less than a month. NC Ports plans incorporate its container business into N4 and add the BI (Business Intelligence) module in 2020.

“North Carolina Ports has a proven successful track record and has continued to make investments in its operations to raise the bar on its ability to handle increasing volumes of cargo and with the dedication and commitment of their team, NC Ports has implemented a TOS that will enable them to grow in all areas of their business,” said Susan Gardner. VP & General Manager, Americas. “We are pleased that we can support them in many of their goals and are looking forward to incorporating more of their operations into the N4 system in the coming months.”

Source: WorldCargo News

LA and Copenhagen Malmö Port collaborate

The Port of Los Angeles and Copenhagen Malmö Port AB (CMP) have entered into a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on sustainability and environmental issues.

Officials from both ports signed the MOU at a ceremony held at the Port of Los Angeles on Nov. 15.

“The MOU between the two ports focuses on facilitating dialogue, information exchange and sharing of best practices. Key areas of cooperation identified under the agreement include energy use and alternative energy sources; advance clean marine terminal equipment technology, ocean-going vessels and drayage trucks; and involvement in global environmental associations and initiatives,” the ports said in a statement.

The ports have similar environmental challenges. Together with Long Beach, Los Angeles is a world leader in addressing diesel emissions reductions and air quality from road trucks and vessels, but addressing the impact from within its main terminals is proving more challenging. Of the more than 100 RTGs operating across the port none are running on electricity. Finding a zero emissions alternative to the more than 200 top handlers across the port is also a major challenge as Los Angeles strives for zero emissions.

CMP has a focus on reducing the carbon dioxide footprint of its operation with the aim of being “climate neutral” by 2025. To help achieve this it has switched from purchasing to leasing equipment, so it can access newer technology faster. Currently around half of all its machinery and vehicles are electric powered.

While they both face challenges, Los Angeles and CMP are out in front when it comes to measuring their environmental impact, and their level of transparency and accountability in sustainability measures. At Los Angeles (and Long Beach) in particular, the level of information publicly available on the emissions profile of the vast equipment fleet across both ports is unmatched anywhere in the world.

“This agreement further solidifies our partnership with CMP, and our mutual interest in promoting the most efficient, most sustainable goods movement possible,” said Gene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles. “With cooperative information-sharing among ports around the world, the Port of Los Angeles has been able to achieve many of our advancements in reducing environmental impacts from port operations over the last decade.”

“We look forward to working with the Port of Los Angeles on how to continuously promote sustainable port development and management,” said Barbara Scheel Agersnap, CEO of CMP. “In order to accelerate solutions on sustainable matters, we need to push for new technologies and new ways of working. Strong partnerships are key to solid and speedy development – and we hope this agreement will also accelerate cooperation between the green maritime development in our two regions for mutual benefit.”

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, centre, signs agreement with Copenhagen Malmö Port AB (CMP). At right is Barbara Scheel Agersnap, Chief Executive Officer of CMP along with Los Angeles Harbour Commissioner Anthony Pirozzi, Jr.

Source: WorldCargo News

Buenos Aires plan under major threat

The victory of Alberto Fernández in Argentina’s general election threatens to scupper one of the headline projects put forward by the previous administration

That project is grouping all five container terminals in the Puerto Nuevo part of the port under a single concession in place of four at present – for last reports, see WorldCargo News, September 2019, p1 and also WorldCargo News, June 2019, p7.

Originally, it was hoped that this would result in investment of US$1.8B and that rates charged would be more competitive, as well as more transparent.

The adjudication process, which is being undertaken by the Transport Ministry and National Ports Authority (AGP), had previously been put back to December 2 following requests from potential bidders, who wanted “more time to analyse the specifications."

Currently, the AGP is in talks with Fernández’s political party, Frente de Todos, to determine the way forward, although the AGP has insisted that there will be no further changes to the implementation schedule as set out in law. Nevertheless, no decision is now expected until December 10, when the new government takes charge.

Rumours emanating from Buenos Aires heavily suggest that the previous government’s policy is unlikely to be retained as is. Indeed, the more likely outcome appears to be that of two competing concessions.

Small and medium-sized enterprises claim that the adoption of a single concessionaire could result in the loss of at least 500 jobs at a time when the economy is unsettled at best.

At present, Terminals Río de la Plata (TRP), which is a collaboration between DP World and a local company, is in charge of zones 1,2 and 3 at Puerto Nuevo. APMT has Terminal 4, and HPH Terminal 5. All these concessions would have been surrendered by 2020 under previous government policy, but could now be extended until May 2021 while the future structure of the port is debated. Four bids are known to have been entered: from TRP, APMT, HPH and ICTSI.

The Puerto Nuevo plans do not involve the Dock Sud operator, Exolgan.

Source: WorldCargo News