Hot Port News from GAC
21-May-2019
TARIFF ADJUSTMENTS ANNOUNCED
Mobile, United States
PLANNED TRAFFIC SUSPENSIONS CANCELLED
Dardanelles, Turkey
GREEN CONNECTION ENVIRONMENTAL RECOGNITION PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS
Panama Canal, Panama
Tariff adjustments announced
Tuesday, May 21, 2019, Mobile, United States
Mobile Bar Pilots have advised that the following adjustments will be made to the tariff, effective from 15 June 2019:
The draft will increase from $37 per foot to $38 per foot
Gross tonnage to increase from $0.60 per gross ton to $0.625 per gross ton
With approval from the Alabama State Pilotage Commission, the pilot boat fund will be adjusted to $100, to help with additional maintenance and repair expenses for pilot boats
For information about operations in the United States, contact GAC North America at usa@gac.com
Planned traffic suspensions cancelled
Tuesday, May 21, 2019, Dardanelles, Turkey
Planned suspensions of traffic for the construction of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, announced last week, have been cancelled. Dardanelles traffic will remain open both ways.
For information about operations in the Turkish Straits, contact GAC Istanbul at turkey@gac.com
Green Connection Environmental Recognition Program enhancements
Tuesday, May 21, 2019, Panama Canal, Panama
The Panama Canal Authority [has] announced enhancements to its industry-leading Green Connection Environmental Recognition Program. The award-winning initiative encourages the shipping industry to mitigate the environmental impact of their operations through an incentive-based system that includes the Green Connection Award, the Environmental Premium Ranking and the Emissions Calculator…
…Starting September 2019, the Emissions Calculator will feature georeferenced data to improve the quality and precision of the carbon emissions data of vessels transiting the Canal. The tool aims to give customers – and the Canal – clear insight into their carbon footprint to incentivize environmental stewardship and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG).
The Environmental Premium Ranking will factor in the use of low-carbon fuels and environmentally conscious transit operations starting mid-September. This ranking affords customers with high environmental efficiency standards the opportunity to improve their position within the Panama Canal’s Customer Ranking System.
The Canal will also bring about updates to other carbon-reduction and watershed conservation initiatives. The Environmental Economic Incentives Program, which allows local communities in the watershed region to engage in reforestation, environmental education and economic incentive programs to improve their quality of life, will start the second phase of its aggressive reforestation efforts in the second half of 2019. The program’s goal is to reach more than 4,000 reforested hectares within the next five years. Additionally, the Panama Canal will commission a study to quantify and analyse the environmental and wildlife conservation benefits of the Panama Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) approved in 2014 by the IMO aimed at protecting whales from ship collisions…
For more information, please visit: http://greenroute.micanaldepanama.com/
(For information about operations in the Panama Canal contact GAC Panama at operations.panama@gac.com)
Source: Extracts from Panama Canal Authority (www.pancanal.com) press release dated 20 May 2019
