Port of Singapore, Image (c) John Stanmeyer, check out his incredible work at www.stanmeyer.com

Port of Singapore continued to register good growth in all areas despite a challenging year for the maritime industry

Amid uncertainty in the global economy as well as challenges faced by the maritime industry, the Port of Singapore experienced a positive year in 2011, achieving good growth in annual vessel arrival tonnage, container throughput, cargo throughput and bunker sales.

The good growth propelled the 2011 performance in all of the four port indicators to all time high levels for the Port of Singapore. In particular, Singapore cemented its global leading position in terms of annual vessel arrival tonnage and bunker sales. Annual vessel arrival tonnage crossed the two billion gross tons (GT) mark for the first time in 2011, while bunker sales reached a new record high.

As a leading International Maritime Centre, Singapore continues to attract a diverse range of maritime businesses to establish operations here. Singapore is now home to more than 120 international shipping groups. The maritime cluster employs more than 170,000 people and contributes some seven per cent to Singapore’s Gross Domestic Product. The Singapore Registry of Ships also continued to grow and rank among the top 10 worldwide.

The advanced estimates of Singapore’s port performance were announced by Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the Singapore Maritime Foundation New Year cocktail reception yesterday.

Vessel Arrival Tonnage
Annual vessel arrival tonnage reached 2.12 billion GT in 2011, an increase of 10.5% from the 1.92 billion GT achieved in 2010. Container ships and tankers were the top contributors, accounting for 31.0% and 30.8% of the total vessel arrival tonnage respectively.

Container and Cargo Throughput
Container throughput in 2011 totalled 29.9 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), a 5.3% increase over the 28.4 million TEUs recorded in 2010. This is the highest ever recorded for the Port of Singapore, marginally surpassing the previous record set in 2008. Total cargo throughput also increased by 5.4% to 530.5 million tonnes from 503.3 million tonnes in the previous year, also a new record for the Port of Singapore.

Bunker Sales
The total volume of bunkers sold in the Port of Singapore grew 5.6% to register another record high of 43.2 million tonnes, compared to 40.9 million tonnes in 2010.

The Singapore Registry of Ships
The Singapore Registry of Ships grew by 17.6% or 8.6 million GT in 2011. As of end December 2011, the total tonnage of ships under the Singapore flag was 57.4 million GT, putting Singapore among the top 10 ship registries in the world.

Details of Singapore’s maritime performance from 2007 to 2011 are below:

*Advanced estimates

“We need to accelerate the pace of expansion of the port sector, especially through public/private partnerships,” Singh said at an event. “We also need to improve the draught in our ports by increasing the pace of dredging,” he added.

Despite carrying out the majority of export-import trade across its coastlines, India’s total tonnage accounts for only 1.1% of the global cargo carried. India’s current tonnage at ports is about 850 million tons, which is expected to grow to about 2.49 billion tons by 2020.

Singh also said the country needs to urgently deal with growing instances of piracy across coastlines. The increase of sea piracy in the last few months beyond the usual area in the Gulf of Aden, has put increasing number of vessels at risk and increased insurance costs for trading seafarers.

“Our navy, coast guard and shipping companies are putting up a concerted effort in close coordination with other international agencies to deal with the menace,” said Singh.

-By Anirban Chowdhury, Dow Jones Newswires

AMMAN (Dow Jones)–The Iraqi government has officially asked Kuwait to stop work on the Mubarak Al Kabeer being built on the northern tip of the Persian Gulf, saying it would block Iraq’s access to the sea, an Iraqi government spokesman said in a statement Wednesday.

“The Iraqi government has asked the Kuwaiti side to stop work in building Mubarak port until we are assured that Iraq’s rights to sail and navigate in the jointly-shared waterway won’t be affected,” Ali Al Dabbagh, who is also a cabinet minister, said.

Iraqi officials and politicians have voiced their rejection of building the port, saying it would threaten Iraq’s shipping lanes through the narrow Khor Abdullah waterway.

Iraq exports some 1.8 million barrels of oil a day through two Persian Gulf loading terminals, Basra and Khor al-Amyah, and the Um Qasr and Zubair commercial ports are used to import most of the country’s goods and commodities.

Kuwait had announced last April the beginning of work to construct the Mubarak Port one year after Iraq’s announcement of its intention to build a grand port at Faw at the Gulf mouth. A South Korean consortium led by Hyundai Corp. (011760.SE ) begun work at the $1.1 billion Mubarak port on Boubyan Island in May this year.

Kuwaiti officials have said the emirate would go ahead with its plans to build the facility despite concerns raised by Baghdad and that the port would be commenced as planned in March 2016.

Hadi al-Amiri, Iraq’s transport minister was quoted as saying earlier this month that the construction of the port “demonstrates a clear intention by Kuwait to block shipping lanes from Iraqi ports and violates U.N. resolutions. We say we will not accept that Basra and Iraq be strangled in any way.”

A dispute between Baghdad and Kuwait in the 1980s over their shared borders and the right of each other to produce oil from a shared oil field was a factor in Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

The United Nations Boundary Commission demarcated borders between Iraq and Kuwait after the first U.S.-led Gulf War in 1991 which ejected Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. The maritime border runs down the middle of Khor Abdullah waterway.

-By Hassan Hafidh; Dow Jones Newswires

“Passenger traffic as well as bulk commodities such as coal and grains, oil and petrochemicals are not affected, apart from a few delays, but container traffic is seriously hit as different categories of workers strike on alternate days,” a UPF spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires.

“A meeting should be organized this week to resume negotiations,” the spokesman said.

Industrial action has completely or partly affected all French sea ports for several days over the last three weeks and has been paralyzing traffic during the weekends.

The worst hit ports are those where container traffic is heavy, including Le Havre, in the north, and Marseilles, in the south. The port of Dunkirk, in the north, is less disrupted.

Last Wednesday, the ports’ CGT labor union said strikes are set to continue as negotiations between unions and government over pension age and working conditions are stalled.

Port workers in France previously went on strike for several weeks in September and October. The Fos-Lavera oil terminal, the world’s third largest, was blocked for more than a month, contributing to a shortage of fuels across the country.

-Angeline Benoit, Dow Jones

The power and beauty of time lapse photography is rarely as dramatic as when it is shot from a ship. This clip of the Houston Ship Channel, 500 Knots on the Houston Ship Channel is a real pleasure to watch. Portofhouston.com tells us that, The Houston Ship Channel has been a catalyst for growth in Harris County since the first journey of a steamship up Buffalo Bayou in 1837. The ship channel plays a critical role in today’s community as well. It generates jobs and opportunities that allow businesses to flourish. A 2007 study by Martin Associates says ship channel-related businesses support more than 785,000 jobs throughout Texas while generating nearly $118 billion of statewide economic impact. Additionally, more than $3.7 billion in state and local tax revenues are generated by business activities related to the port. It is projected that the Port of Houston will continue to be an important factor as north-south trade expands.

Fred Fry pointed us to this amazing time lapse video by our favorite maritime photographer. Click HERE for the details.

Another amazing Time Lapse video from our friend Lou Vest of the Houston Pilots. You can find more of Lou’s amazing photos on Flickr (link).

A time lapse video made by setting a camera to take photos at six second intervals during a trip outbound on the Houston Ship Channel. I used Quicktime to assemble over 2000 individual photos into a 3 minute movie representing an actual time of over 3 1/2 hours. The ship was only moving at 5-6 knots for the first half of the trip and up to 10 knots in the open areas away from the docks. The journey begins just below the Port of Houston turning basin at the end of the channel and continues down to Morgan’s Point at the head of Galveston Bay. We still had 32 miles to go to get out to the pilot station in the Gulf of Mexico at that point. The ship is a Panamax tanker 600 feet long by 106 feet wide.

Over the River: 1903 – New York circa 1903. "East River from Brooklyn tower of Williamsburg Bridge." 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size »

Manhattan: 1908 – New York circa 1908. "Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline." 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size »

The Submarine Boat: 1904 – New York ca. 1904. "The Submarine Boat, Coney Island." 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size »

Steamers of Detroit

City of Detroit: 1912 – "Steamer City of Detroit III, pilot house and bridge." 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size »

The Luxe Boat: 1912 – "Steamer City of Detroit III, grand salon, looking forward." 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size »

The Detroit River circa 1905 – "Transfer steamer Detroit." 8×10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size »

See Also:

• Lake Steamer City of Cleveland: 1908 » and Main Deck: 1908 »
• Philadelphia Ferry Terminal circa 1905 »
• Buffalo, New York: Jack-Knife Bridge: 1905 »

0820: 35 degrees F with sideways blowing snow – USCGC SHACKLE approaching South Portland CG Station pier. The Shackle is a 65ft Small Harbor Tug, tasked with light icebreaking, maritime security, search and rescue and ship assist work out of Station South Portland, Casco Bay, Maine (full size)

Bridge of the SHACKLE (full size) See also: rear facing nav station »

US State Dept contingent of Korean news teams get some B roll aboard the Shackle.  One of the cameramen was sporting a Yankees cap, triggering a wave of murmurs amongst the ship’s captain and crew. full size above – full size below.

Sr. Chief Joseph Butkovic at the helm of the Shackle (full size)

Day Two; March 24, 2010

The United States Coast Guard sponsors a Spill of National Significance Full Scale Exercise every 3 years that includes collaboration with additional federal, state, local and private organizations. This year, the exercise was hosted in Casco Bay, Maine.

The scenario for SONS 2010 assumes sea conditions of 20 foot seas, 40 knot winds, with deteriorating conditions, and that’s pretty much exactly what what we had. Fifteen miles from shore, the collision of an oil tanker and a car carrier results in the carrier embedding into the side of the tanker, spilling 69,000 barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Maine.

Early in the morning, crew readied one of the inflatable barges (seen to the vessel’s port side) that accompanies the VOSS (Vessel of Opportunity Skimming System) and prepared it for towing. Each VOSS is contained in transport “pods” (big metal box) that can be loaded on to a truck or C-130 transport plane and delivered to a particular spill site. Each VOSS is equipped with two 50 foot inflatable barges that are capable of receiving 619 barrels of recovered oil or diesel.

USCGC Marcus Hanna deploys the containment boom (full size)

The 175 foot Buoy Tender Marcus Hanna was used as the working platform for the VOSS. A recovery barge was tied off the port side of the Marcus Hanna, while crew secured the containment booms on the starboard side. Once the booms are in place, the pumping device is placed into the contained area and pumping can begin. The oil is separated from the water and pumped into the barge. No system is perfect and some water is gained in the recovery, however, the barge is equipped with a “decanting valve” that allows the heavier water to be siphoned off.

Larger buoy tenders, (225’s) are designed with VOSS-like systems, called SORS, or Spilled Oil Recover Systems. These systems work like the VOSS, but are designed to be stored equipment on the tender in a forward compartment.

Also participating in the exercise was the Maine Responder, a spill recovery vessel owned by Marine Spill Response Corporation. This vessel is only involved with spill recovery and can pump recovered oil into tanks that are located on board. There are several vessels of this type located in various ports, always at the ready for quick spill response.

(see full size)

• MarineTraffic: MAINE RESPONDER 43902 – Vessel’s Details & Current Position »
• Marine Spill Response Corporation; Port of Portland (Equipment & specs) »

Day Two Flickr photo album from the event » -  Day One Gallery »

Other Local Media Reports:

While Maya and I were warm and cozy aboard the USCGC Shackle, local broadcast media suffered the elements on the open deck of the Maine Marine Patrol rescue boat PV Challenge II. (see full size)

PORTSMOUTH - The birds and the marshes would feel it the worst, if ever a massive oil spill were to occur along the coast.

But that’s not all. Seabrook Station would shut down; fishermen would be banned from fishing and at least some already out would need to be rescued; and power plants on the Piscataqua could be affected, causing further power disruption.

That was the message brought home Wednesday, after dozens of local, state, federal and private industry employees took part in a simulated oil spill exercise of national scope at a very busy "command room" in the Portsmouth office of the N.H. Department of Environmental Services.

Because the oil would emulsify in the ocean, it would triple in volume to 9 million gallons, said Michael Wimsatt, director of the Waste Management Divsion at N.H. DES. That’s 9 million gallons making its way south from Portland and into the N.H. Seacoast.

• keep reading on Seacoast Online »
• WCSH6 / NBC Portland Video Report »

South Portland and Cape Elizabeth residents will awaken to lots of unusual activity in Casco Bay on March 24 and 25. Starting at 7 a.m. on both days, the U.S. Coast Guard base in South Portland will host the nation’s largest oil spill exercise. (see full size)

“The role of the local base will be to coordinate response activities in the port and offshore,” said Coast Guard Lt. Commander David Sherry. “We’ll be working with state and industry partners as primary responders in the field and in the command post.”

Called Spill of National Significance, or SONS for short, the drill will involve more than 1,000 participants from the Coast Guard and many public and private partners including Shell Oil Products, the Environmental Protection Agency, Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Marine Spill Response Corp.

SONS 2010 also will involve a variety of land and sea resources including booms, trailers, barges skimmers and cutters. “It’s kind of like the Super Bowl of pollution exercises. That’s how we like to say it,” said Coast Guard Lt. Lisa Ceraolo.

• keep reading on S Portland/Cape Elizabeth Sentry »
• Boston Herald (AP): Oil spill drill in Maine tests response crews »
• Newburyport (MASS) Daily News: Oil spill drill asks, "What if?" »
• Portsmouth, NH: Huge spill drill: Hundreds take part in offshore exercise »
• Oil-spill drill tests port response systems »

• PORTLAND — By noon Wednesday, the stress levels were rising in the ballroom at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.Dozens of people stationed around the room were responding to a mock oil spill disaster. Moments earlier, they had learned that the car carrier ship that had crashed into a tanker outside Portland Harbor, spilling 2 million gallons of crude owned by Shell Oil Co. two days earlier, had just sunk between Cushing Island and Portland Head Light, creating yet another spill.

  "This is designed to really push us," said Capt. James McPherson, commander of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, who was leading the exercise.

  More than 500 people from dozens of public agencies and private businesses participated in the two-day drill to test the region’s emergency response system. The object was to try to contain the spill and begin to clean up the damage… »

USCG Media:

• SONS 2010 exercise concludes in Portland
• Video – Cutter crew simulates oil spill clean-up in Portland, Maine
• Photos – Crews simulate oil spill clean-up in Portland, Maine
• Video – Crews simulate oil spill clean-up in Boston Harbor during exercise
• Photos – Crews simulate oil spill clean-up in Boston Harbor during exercise

SONS2010 Participating Organizations:

Special Thanks:

gCaptain and Casco Bay Boaters would like to extend a special note of thanks and appreciation to USCG Lt. Lisa Ceraolo, USCG SCPO John Hart, Commander Thomas Jones, Sr. Chief Joseph Butkovic, and the crews of the USCG Cutters Marcus Hanna and Shackle for their professionalism, helpfulness and accommodation, and most importantly, for keeping all of us safe while on the water.

Semper Paratus

• Day One post on gCaptain »
• See also: iCommandant post »
• Marcus Hanna page on wikipedia »
• GlobalSecurity.org: Group Portland »
• USCG Sector Northern New England »
• Coast Guard News: Coast Guard SONS 2010 national exercise begins in Portland »

Incident scene: Portland Harbor (full size)

Day One; March 23, 2010

Every three years, since 1994, the United States Coast Guard, in conjunction with 50 other federal, state, local and private organizations performs a Spill of National Significance, Full Scale Exercise or SONS. This term was born out of the 1989 EXXON Valdez, where 10.8 million gallons of crude oil was spilled in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

The SONS is defined by the severity, size, location efforts and assets that  would require extraordinary coordination efforts on a federal, state and local level. This year’s site, Casco Bay, located in Portland Maine, was selected in November of 2008 based on information learned from previous exercises as well as what was learned from the 2007 Cosco Busan incident in San Francisco. Additionally, 600 participants will be taking part in this exercise from federal, state, local and private organizations.

The objectives of an exercise of this magnitude is to establish preparedness in the field to the regional and national level, provide an opportunity for cooperation throughout all levels of the government, private sector and non governmental organizations and finally, to have the ability to improve procedures for the future.

Captain’s Q & A, Bridge of the Marcus Hanna - way too many soaking wet media monkeys crammed on the sauna-like bridge (full size)

The Scenario: March 21, fifteen miles from shore in the Gulf of Maine, a tanker, transporting 430,000 barrels of crude oil and a car carrier collide, with a loss of 69,000 barrels of crude oil, while sinking at the harbor entrance of Portland, Maine. The sea conditions are marginal, at best, with 40 knot winds and 20 foots seas.  Throw in sideways blowing snow, and the day was made to order.

Once the USCG receives a report that there has been a collision and a crude oil spill has occurred, the USCG begins an assessment of the affected area. A VOSS (Vessel of Opportunity Oil Skimming System) is arranged to be deployed. These systems are pre-staged and packaged ready to be loaded on to a truck for delivery to a response. In the case of this years exercise, this VOSS system is located in New Hampshire, and trucked to Portland. Upon arrival, the system is loaded onto the 175 foot USCG buoy tender, Marcus Hanna, which is ideally suited for this system due to the design of the forward working deck of the Marcus Hanna. (data sheet)

Loading of equipment & assets aboard forward deck of the USCGC Marcus Hanna

 full size above – full size below

VOSS has a system of containment booms as well as a pump that separates oil from water without emulsifying the oil. Once the oil is recovered, it is pumped into accompanying barges. Depending on ocean conditions, an oil recovery rate of over 90% can be achieved while processing 190 gallons of contaminated water per minute. Other state, local and private entities would also work at spill recovery, and shore clean up using response equipment such as aircraft, skimmers and containment booms.

If there is a SONS, other issues must be addressed along with spill clean up. As Portland is a major commercial port, decisions would need to be made about whether the port must be shut down or whether marine traffic is restricted. Only a USCG Port Captain has this authority to close or restrict a port, and careful consideration would be made when a decision of this magnitude is made.

Were a SONS was to occur doing Maine’s summer and fall, where the fishing fleets and recreational boating is at its busiest, the USCG would issue a Broadcast Notice to Mariners about spill areas, restricted areas and information on where to report with your vessel for decontamination if necessary. Additionally, the USCG would carefully monitor restricted areas and ensure that vessels not enter those areas until safe to do so.

USCG Commander Captain James B. McPherson, Sector Northern New England stated, ”Our Goal, through this and other exercises is to improve our collective ability to give the public swift, safe and well-coordinated response to this type of disaster. The relationships forged and the lessons learned from thee SONS2010 will carry far into the future in our constantly evolving plans for oil spill response.”

The USCG Coastal Buoy Tender Marcus Hanna; a 175ft Keeper Class Coastal Buoy Tender assigned to Station South Portland and is named for Marcus Hanna, a lighthouse keeper who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his Civil War service and the Gold Lifesaving Medal in 1885 for saving two sailors wrecked at his lighthouse. (full size)

• US Coast Guard Group Portland, ME
• Group Portland Summary on GlobalSecurity.org »
• See Also: SONS2010 Day Two »
• iCommandant post »
• Coast Guard News: Coast Guard SONS 2010 national exercise begins in Portland »

USCG Media:

• SONS 2010 exercise concludes in Portland
• Video – Cutter crew simulates oil spill clean-up in Portland, Maine
• Photos – Crews simulate oil spill clean-up in Portland, Maine
• Video – Crews simulate oil spill clean-up in Boston Harbor during exercise
• Photos – Crews simulate oil spill clean-up in Boston Harbor during exercise

Feb. 12, 2010
Global Security Newswire

A ship carrying equipment and personnel to screen the cargo of vessels entering the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports for materials that could be used in a weapon of mass destruction was launched earlier this week, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said (see GSN, Jan. 29).

The $3 million ship is manned by explosives experts and outfitted with WMD detection equipment. Vessels would have their cargo checked prior to coming into the United States’ most trafficked port complex, the Associated Press reported. Vessels undergo additional screening once they arrive at the port.

The Sheriff’s Department also has a helicopter that searches for radioactive material (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 10).

"The port complex is one of the most critical infrastructures in the United States," said Jack Ewell, who oversees the project for the Sheriff’s Department, CBS News reported.

keep reading on Global Security Newswire »

See also: Long Beach Port Gets Superhero-Like Security Upgrades »

They sound like tools used in a superhero movie: a $3 million high tech boat, a radiation-detecting helicopter, and a chemical weapons-sniffing dog named Johnny Ringo. But this real-life crime fighting combination is part of Long Beach port’s newest arsenal in the war against terrorists.

The 55-foot screening vessel is "the first of its kind in the world," according to a Sheriff’s department statement, while the dog is the only one of its kind in the nation.

The $3 million screening vessel acquired by the Sheriff’s Department using Homeland Security funds carries "the most advanced technology currently available to protect the region," said Jack Ewell, who is in charge of the project for the Sheriff’s Department.

Officials Announce New Port Security Measures »
Long Beach Press-Telegram / Feb 10, 2010‎

photo sent by Justin. O. Vandenheuvel; USCG Cutter Oak