Hot Port News from GAC
20-May-2020
INCREASE IN CHARGES FOR MARINE SERVICES
Basrah Oil Terminal, Iraq
PROPOSED NEW BIOSECURITY LEVY SHELVED
Australia
AMPHAN TO MAKE LANDFALL AS EXTREMELY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM
Bay of Bengal, India
PORT MAINTAINS STATUS QUO DESPITE CORONA CRISIS
Antwerp, Belgium
PORT OPERATIONS DURING EID
Kuwait
SHIPPING MOVEMENTS DURING EID
Port Qasim, Pakistan
PORTS SHUT DOWN OPS AHEAD OF CYCLONE
East Coast ports, India
COUNTRY ALERT LEVEL REDUCED, BORDER RESTRICTIONS UNCHANGED
New Zealand
Increase in charges for marine services
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Basrah Oil Terminal, Iraq
Charges for marine services for all vessels calling at Basrah Oil Terminal will increase from 1 June 2020.
For details of the new charges, as well as information about operations in Iraq, contact GAC Iraq at iraq@gac.com
Proposed new biosecurity levy shelved
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Australia
The Australian Federal Government has announced that it will not proceed with the proposed New Biosecurity Levy. Instead, biosecurity will be funded through budget appropriations, combined with the existing cost recovery arrangements.
The rates at which vessels arriving in Australia from overseas are charged are (and remain) as follows:
– Vessel (≥25m) arrival charge per vessel $1,054
– Fee for service – assessment, approval, inspection, treatment and audit:
– In-office fee per 15 minutes $30
– Out-of-office fee per 15 minutes $50
For information about operations in Australia, contact GAC Australia at shipping.australia@gac.com
Amphan to make landfall as extremely severe cyclonic storm
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Bay of Bengal, India
Cyclone Amphan is forecast to will make landfall as an ‘extremely severe cyclonic storm’ later today (20 May) close to Sundarbans, between West Bengal’s Digha and Bangladesh’s Hatiya Islands. It will be accompanied with heavy rain and ferocious winds at sustained winds of 155-165 km per hour, gusting up to 185 kmph.
Amphan became the Bay of Bengal’s fiercest cyclone this century after it intensified with sustained wind speeds of up to 270 km per hour.
This morning, it was centred about nearly 125 km south southeast of Paradip in Odisha and 240 km from Digha in West Bengal, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to coastal Odisha districts.
Cyclone Warning Signal No.8 has been sounded at Paradip port.
For further details and updates, as well as information about operations in India, contact GAC India at india@gac.com
Port maintains status quo despite corona crisis
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium
Despite the impact of corona on global production and supply chains and a fall in demand as a result of the corona crisis, the port [of Antwerp] experienced slight growth in the total freight volume during the period January-April 2020 compared with the same period last year.
The container volume in April was down compared with April 2019 but experienced growth of 6.1% in TEU during 2020 overall. The consequences of cancelled sailings will make themselves felt in the remainder of the second quarter. On the other hand there was a strong increase in empty boxes bound for China, which is a sign of recovery in production there.
In the case of breakbulk, with steel as the most important product, the consequences of the worldwide disruptions in trade have made themselves felt since 2019 and the shutdown of some industries due to the corona crisis has led to a sharp drop of 15.7% in April and 29.1% in 2020 overall.
Due to the lack of production in the automotive industry there were no imports of new cars from Asia, and exports of European cars were similarly at a standstill. The second-hand car market was also almost completely absent as a result of the corona crisis. As a consequence the total ro/ro volume was down by 16.2% in the period January-April compared with the same period last year.
As for dry bulk there was little demand for coal due to the mild winter and the shutdown of the steel industry, and so also very little outgoing traffic to the hinterland. The fact that sufficient renewable energy (solar and wind) was available in Germany also contributed to the sharp drop in outgoing coal consignments. Other bulk categories remain under pressure and are declining in volume. In the liquid bulk sector the volume was down by 2.5% in 2020, mainly due to the lower demand for oil derivatives. The volume of chemical products experienced slight growth of 0.6% during the first four months of this year compared with the same period in 2019…
…Despite a weaker month in April the port has been able to maintain its level of activity in terms of freight volume. The impact of lacklustre demand due to the corona crisis will make itself felt more strongly in the coming months. In the meantime, Port of Antwerp is doing everything necessary to ensure efficient functioning of the port.
(For information about operations in Belgium, contact GAC Belgium at agency.antwerp@gac.com)
Source: Port of Antwerp (www.portofantwerp.com) press release dated 19 May 2020
Port operations during Eid
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Kuwait
Port operations in Kuwait will function normally during the Eid Al Fitr holiday.
The beginning of Eid depends on the sighting of the moon. If it starts on Saturday (23 May), the GAC Kuwait office will be closed 23-25 May and resume work on Tuesday 26 May. If Eid starts on Sunday (24 May), the office will be closed 24-26 May, reopening on 27 May.
For information about operations in Kuwait, contact GAC Kuwait at kuwait@gac.com
Shipping movements during Eid
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, Port Qasim, Pakistan
Port Qasim Authority has advised that there will be no shipping movements in the port on 24 or 25 May, due to Eid-Ul-Fitr (subject to the appearance of the moon).
For information about operations in Pakistan, contact GAC Pakistan at pakistan@gac.com
Ports shut down ops ahead of cyclone
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, East Coast ports, India
Operations have been halted at several ports on India’s east coast due to the approach of Cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal.
At Kolkata, cargo operations at docks were suspended from 2200 hours yesterday (19 May) until 0600 hours on 21 May. Vessels at docks are advised to double-up mooring.
Vessels in the port at Haldia have been shifted out to safe anchorage. All inward/outward movements and cargo operations at docks are suspended.
At Gopalpur, all inward movements are suspended, with all vessels vacated and shifted to safe anchorage. Cyclone warning Signal No.8 has been sounded.
Cyclone warning Signal No.8 has also been sounded at Paradip, where inward movements are suspended until the weather improves. All vessels have vacated and moved out to sea for safety.
All inward movements at Dhamra were cancelled from Monday (18 May). Vessels in port shifted out to sea.
At Vizag, inward movements are suspended until the weather improves, and vessels at berth have shifted out to safe anchorage. Operations at VGCB are suspended due to heavy rolling. Storm Flag No.3 hoisted.
Inward movements at Gangavaram, which had been suspended, resumed today. Vessels at berth had been shifted to safe anchorage. Storm Flag #3 hoisted.
For more details and updates, as well as information about operations in India, contact GAC India at india@gac.com
Country alert level reduced, border restrictions unchanged
Wednesday, May 20, 2020, New Zealand
New Zealand has reduced its COVID-19 Alert to Level 2. Border restrictions, however, remain unchanged at Level 3.
For information about operations in New Zealand, contact the GAC Singapore Hub Agency Centre at hub.sg@gac.com
