Colon Container Terminal News

Evergreen Line took delivery of its sixth and seventh new 12,000 TEU class F-type containerships on December 15. Ever Forever was built at the Geoje Shipyard of South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries, and Ever Far was delivered by Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan.The two new large containerships set sail in good order after the delivery procedures were completed. The ships’ 58,000-horsepower main engines are powering the technically advanced vessels to their allocated loading ports on Evergreen’s trans-Pacific services. Ever Forever will be put into service on the Asia-U.S.

The Meyer's Group has ordered two Damen ASD 2913 Tugs to operate in the newly expanded Panama Canal. At an official signing ceremony at the Panama Maritime XIII World Conference, Michel Mittelmeyer, Chief Executive Officer said the Meyer’s Group was awarded a contract last year to offer towage support in the new Panama Canal locks. These new tugs fulfill the requirements of the Panama Canal Authority as more powerful vessels, of at least 80 metric tons bollard pull, are needed given the ever-increasing size of vessels, added Mittelmeyer.

Less than six months after the inauguration of the Expanded Panama Canal, the waterway welcomed its 500th transit of a Neopanamax ship on Wednesday, highlighting the trust that Canal customers have placed in the route. Performing the 500th transit was the container vessel YM Unity, which first began its passage through the Cocoli Locks in the Pacific and then headed north towards the Agua Clara Locks. Built in 2006, the YM Unity (of the Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation) measures 335.7 meters in length and 42.8 meters in beam and has a carrying capacity of 8,200 TEUs. The ship is traveling from Asia and will stop at Colon Container Terminal in Panama before heading to U.S. ports.

Panama and Cuba, both in the midst of growth and international expansion, are examples of two different economic models that are helping to attract foreign companies through government initiatives providing investor security. Seeking to generate business opportunities and strengthen corporate and institutional ties between the Cuban and Panamanian logistics communities, the Port of Barcelona said it has planned a multi-sector trade mission to Panama City and Havana from November 19 to 25.

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. inform that with SAAM S.A. they have successfully created a joint harbor towage operation within the American Continent in Brazil, Mexico, Canada and Panama, comprising two underlying joint ventures operating in more than 30 port terminals with a hundred tugboats. The intended partnership, which is between SMIT, a wholly owned subsidiary of Boskalis, and SAAM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sociedad Matriz SAAM S.A. (SM SAAM), was previously announced in September 2013 and all conditions to form the joint venture have now been fulfilled. The merger will generate synergies estimated at approximately USD 10 million per year, to be fully captured in the next 24 months.

Evergreen Line and Crowley Sign Slot charter Agreemnt for Weekly Service Between Florida, Panama and Costa Rica. Evergreen Line and Crowley Latin America Services have filed a slot charter agreement with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission that will allow Evergreen to provide northbound and southbound services to customers covering ports in Florida and Panama, a major transshipment hub for global trade, as well as Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. The weekly service for Evergreen customers includes sailings to and from Miami; Colon Container Terminal, an Evergreen-owned and operated facility in Panama, and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. The service for Crowley customers is unchanged with weekly sailings to and from Port Everglades; Manzanillo, Panama; Puerto Limon and Santo Tomas, Guatemala.

Evergreen Line has announced a series of enhancements to its Asia - U.S. East Coast Service (AUE) and China - South U.S. West Coast - China Service (CPS) services. These changes were introduced to meet customer demand for higher levels of service and will come into effect from mid April. The CPS service will now provide faster transit times from the keys ports of Shanghai to Los Angeles. From Shanghai the transit times has been reduced to 12 days. The first CPS vessel to load in China will be the 6332TEU 'Hatsu Envoy 0331-070' sailing from Xingang on 18 April 2009. The AUE service, which offers direct sailing between Asia and the U.S. East Coast, will now offer a transit time of just 24 days between Yantian and Savannah.

Evergreen Line will adjust its weekly transit times on its Far East - Panama service (FPS), to improve the service it offers to its customers in Central America, the Caribbean and the West Coast of South America.   The company has reduced the transit time from its Taiwanese hub, Kaohsiung to the Mexican port of Lazaro Cardenas from 23 to 16 days. The transit time from Shanghai to the Caribbean hub, Colon Container Terminal, is now 25 days.   The FPS service port rotation is now: Ningbao – Shanghai – Yangtian – Kaohsiung – Lazaro Cardenas – Colon Container Terminal - Ningbao   The first sailing operating with the revised schedule will be served by the 2,824 TEU ‘Irenes Remedy 0046-036’, which is due to start loading in Shanghai on 16 April 2009.

Based on the worldwide economic downturn and the need to focus resources in other trades, Evergreen Line has announced its withdrawal from the Tango service linking ports on the East Coasts of North and South America. Evergreen Line is suspending service by terminating its space charter agreement and in compliance with its 90-day pre-notice. The final sailings for Evergreen Line customers will be: •    M/V CAP San Nicolas 064S ETD New York 25 JAN 2009 •    M/V CAP San Augustin 064N ETD Buenos Aires 26 JAN 2009 Evergreen will continue service to Venezuela via the Colon Container Terminal in Panama and to South America's West Coast trade. (www.evergreen-line.com)

Italia Marittima has upgraded its AUX transpacific service linking China with the US East Coast via the Panama Canal to provide shippers with a direct call at New York. The revised service gives customers more competitive transit times, thanks to the deployment of faster vessels, which will provide a 56-day rotation instead of the current 63, while capacity will increase substantially with eight vessels of 4,000 to 4,500 TEU replacing the nine vessels of approximately 2,800 TEU currently serving the route. The AUX service also maintains calls at Colon Container Terminal (CCT) in Panama, providing connections to the Evergreen Group’s extensive Caribbean feeder network.

Following congestion on the US West Coast towards the end of 2004, the pressure has been on carriers to launch additional services via the Panama Canal. The Evergreen Group has responded to this challenge by introducing new services of its own and complementing these with slot charter arrangements with other carriers. Together with Cosco Container Lines (Coscon), Evergreen Marine Corporation (EMC) is launching a new service linking China with the southern states of the US. Designated the CUE service, it will link the ports of Shanghai, Yantian and Hong Kong with Evergreen’s Panamanian hub terminal, Colon Container Terminal (CCT), Savannah and Miami.