COSCO Vessel to Make Panama History

By Mark Edward Nero

On June 11, the container vessel COSCO Shipping Panama set sail from the Greek Port of Piraeus on its way to Panama to make history. The Neopanamax vessel is to make the inaugural transit of the expanded Panama Canal on June 26 after a 14-day journey.

COSCO Shipping Panama, a new containership that was launched in January, is 984 feet (300 meters) in length and 157 feet (48.25 meters) in beam, and has a container carrying capacity of 9,472 TEUs.

Originally to be named Andronikos, the vessel was renamed by China’s COSCO Shipping to pay respect to the people of Panama and for the honor of the inaugural transit. The ship was selected during a draw for the inaugural transit through the expanded waterway.

The vessel happens to have been built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, the same company that constructed the valves that control the flow of water through the new locks of the Canal.

Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano met with COSCO Shipping Panama’s Captain Jude Rodrigues and crewmembers prior to the ship’s departure.

“I had transited the Panama Canal many times before and it has been a great experience, but being the master of the first vessel to transit the expanded Canal is an experience of a century,” Rodrigues said. “The Panama Canal Expansion is a major event on itself and a milestone in global history.”

During the inauguration, COSCO Shipping Panama will transit Agua Clara Locks on the Atlantic side during the early morning and Cocoli Locks in the afternoon. The regular schedule of transits through the Expanded Canal will follow the next day, June 27.

“Over a hundred years ago, the SS Ancon made history as the first vessel to transit the Panama Canal,” Administrator Quijano said. “In a few weeks, COSCO Shipping Panama, the Panama Canal, and the people of Panama will change the face of global shipping and international commerce.”

The Panama Canal Expansion Program is the largest construction project undertaken in the waterway since its opening in 1914. Construction to double the waterway’s cargo capacity began in 2007.

Port of Seattle Presents Environmental Awards

For the second straight year, the Port of Seattle has presented Green Gateway Partners Awards to recognize the environmental achievements of its cruise and containership tenants.

The awards, which were announced Feb. 17, are based on a scoring system. Depending on the number of points earned, port tenants can achieve one of three recognition levels – gold, silver or bronze.

Eligibility for the awards begins with participation in the port’s At-Berth Clean Fuels program, or use of shore power as a minimum requirement. These and other environmental activities then assigned point values. The awards and scoring system are maintained by a third party.

This year’s gold award winners were APL Ltd., Royal Caribbean International, Hapag-Lloyd, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Line and Maersk Line. All received high marks in such categories as innovative vessel design, environment protection programs and environmental pilot/test programs.

Receiving silver awards were Matson Navigation and Holland America Line. COSCO Container Lines was the sole bronze award recipient.

“These maritime operators demonstrate by their actions every day that you can be good environmental stewards while contributing to our economy,” Port of Seattle CEO Tay Yoshitani said.

The name of the awards – Green Gateway Partners – is a nod to the port’s branding of itself as the Green Gateway for maritime trade between Asia and the central US.

A 2009 study showed that for cargo originating in much of Asia and bound for a range of destinations across the United States, routes through Seattle resulted in lower carbon emissions than other routes.

Longshoreman Killed at Cosco Terminal

A longshoreman working at the Port of Long Beach’s Cosco Terminal was crushed by a falling cargo container just before 7 pm Jan. 20, according to police.

Authorities say that Steven Saggiani, 47, of Long Beach, was working loading and unloading containers on the deck of an unidentified ship at Pier J when an eight-ton, 40-foot container fell 200 feet and crushed him.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Patricia Ortiz, a spokeswoman with the California Occupational Safety and Health Program, commonly known as Cal-OSHA, told the Long Beach Press-Telegram, that Saggiani was working as the ship’s boss when one of the containers twisted, fell off a stack, then struck Saggiani as he and other workers fled.

Because Saggiani was on the ship and the crane was on the dock, the incident is being investigated by both Cal-OSHA and its federal equivalent, Ortiz told the newspaper.

An investigation could take anywhere from two to six months, Ortiz said.

Prince Rupert to Double Weekly Ship Calls

New services being added by ocean carriers COSCO and Hanjin in May will boost weekly calls at the Canadian West Coast port of Prince Rupert by 50 percent.

COSCO and Hanjin have announced they will add additional weekly call each to the port, raising the number of weekly calls at Prince Rupert from two to four. The port is currently being served by the CKYH Alliance (COSCON, K-Line, Yang Ming, and Hanjin) mainly under the COSCON banner.

Starting in early May, COSCO will replace the Port of Oakland on its five vessel transpacific South China Express service (SEA) with the Prince Rupert port as the last call on the West Coast.

Also starting in early May, Hanjin will add Prince Rupert to its transpacific Pacific Northwest North Express service (PNN), with Prince Rupert being the first West Coast call inbound from Asia.

Opened in late 2007, the port's single container terminal handled about 340,000 TEUs last year with two weekly ship calls and has an estimated maximum capacity of about 500,000 TEUs per year. The Canadian National Railway offers an express 90-hour double-stacked intermodal service between the Prince Rupert terminal and Chicago.

COSCO Increases Stake in Yantain Terminal Investment Firm

Chinese terminal operator and logistics firm COSCO Pacific announced Thursday that it will pay $520 million for a 13.7 percent stake in the Yantian Terminal in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Hong Kong-based COSCO is purchasing the stake through an investment in Danish-firm Sigma Enterprises from A.P. Moller-Maersk subsidiary MAPM Terminals Invest Co Ltd. The purchase will increase COSCO's holding in Sigma from 6.85 percent to 20.55 percent.

COSCO said in a statement that it would finance the purchase internally, but may turn to "capital market transactions when it is appropriate.” Cosco also said that it has cash and reserves on hand of $700 million.

The Yantain Terminals, which move close to 9 million TEUs a year, are a major component of the transpacific trade routes.

NOL and COSCO 3Qs Down, CMA-CGM's CEO Denies Ouster Report

In ocean carrier news, Singapore-based Neptune Orient Line and Tianjin, China-based China COSCO posted losing third-quarters last week while the CEO of French carrier CMA-CGM denied press reports that creditors were demanding his ouster.

NOL posted a 29 percent drop in average container rates in the third-quarter compared to the year-ago period and predicted "significant losses" through at least the first half of 2010. In posting its fourth quarterly loss in a row, NOL reported a net loss in the third-quarter of $138.9 million compared to a $35 million profit in the year-ago period.

China COSCO posted a $101 million third quarter net loss compared to a $814 million profit from the same period in 2008.

Both COSCO and NOL reported container volumes dipped about 6 percent during the third quarter compared to the year-ago period.

In Europe, CMA-CGM founding CEO Jacques Saadé denied media reports that creditors want him gone before they will move forward with restructuring the privately-held carrier's $5.6 billion in debt.

“I can’t imagine that any of our financial partners would try to take advantage of this period,” Saadé told Bloomberg, adding that CMA-CGM expects to move into the black “in coming months.”

COSCO Pacific 3Q Numbers Down

Hong Kong-based terminal operator COSCO Pacific reported a 49 percent drop in third-quarter profits, slipping to $40 million from $77.7 million in the same period last year.

Third-quarter revenues were reported at $83.4 million, off 8.5 percent from the year-ago period. Total container volume also slipped, dipping 4.2 percent over the third quarter of 2008.

In a report to the Hong Kong stock exchange this week, COSCO Pacific cited said that the declines were due to the continuing recession in the United States and Europe.

The firm, a subsidiary of the COSCO Group, is the third-largest terminal operator in Asia and owns or has stakes in 21 terminal operators, mainly along the Pacific Rim in China, Hong Kong and Singapore.