Port of New York and New Jersey

Exported empty containers at the Port of New York and New Jersey in March leapt 77.5% year-over-year.

Amounting to 267,542 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), the exported empties reflect “the need to reposition empty containers around the globe to provide the equipment necessary to support the strong cargo demand,” the port said in a press release this week.

The empty containers contributed to the port setting an all-time monthly record in March, with total volume increasing 40.8% year-over-year from 560,830 TEUs to 789,776 TEUs.

Imports were up 44.8% year-over-year, from 271,511 TEUs in March 2020 to 393,159 TEUs this year. 

Exports decreased 7.4%, from 136,780 TEUs last year to 126,699 TEUs this March. 

The Port of New York and New Jersey said rail volume increased by 7.8% to 64,431 containers and auto volume was up 11.5% year-over-year in March to 46,686 units. 

The Port of New York and New Jersey typically releases its volume reports about a month later than other U.S. gateways. 

The port marked another milestone Saturday when it welcomed the MSC Virgo, the largest vessel to call at the Port Newark Container Terminal. 

The Virgo is MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s first 15,000-TEU vessel to call any U.S. East Coast port. MSC deployed the container ship last September to bolster its service offering on the Indian subcontinent. 

Before the MSC Virgo, the largest container ship to call Port Newark was the 13,100-TEU MSC Cristina, a record set in just April.

Port of Long Beach

The Port of Long Beach in Southern California has provided SpaceX a marine terminal for its West Coast rocket recovery operations. 

The Board of Harbor Commissioners last week approved a sublease agreement with Space Explorations Technologies Corp. — more commonly known as SpaceX. The space technology company on Saturday took over part of a waterfront, wharf-equipped Long Beach facility vacated just over a year ago by Sea Launch, a commercial satellite launching company that had been based at the port for 20 years.

SpaceX will occupy about 6.5 acres on Pier T, once the site of a Navy complex, and utilize the existing wharf to dock its vessels and offload equipment.

Plaquemines Port and APM Terminals are working together on a future harbor and terminal district. (Image: APM Terminals)

Plaquemines Port

Louisiana’s Plaquemines Port and APM Terminals have agreed to work together on the design of a harbor and terminal district. APM Terminals also will be considered as the operator of the future terminal.

The Plaquemines Port Harbor and Terminal District (PPHTD) is in the early stages of development as a deepwater, multimodal, state-of-the-art container terminal. Located on the Mississippi River 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, the port would cater to exporters and importers that could tap into the multimodal routing options from rail, truck and barge. An environmentally friendly terminal powered by a combination of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electricity is planned. 

“Partnering with APM Terminals to work together on this project is a huge win for the state of Louisiana,” said PPHTD Executive Director Sandy Sanders. “Along with our partners American Patriot Holdings and Louisiana 23 Development Co., Plaquemines Port has engineered a logistics business model to attract private investment dollars and new cargo to Louisiana.”

APM Terminals, the port operator unit of A.P. Møller – Maersk, operates 75 container terminals around the world.

Port of Corpus Christi

The Port of Corpus Christi Authority and Stabilis Solutions Inc. this week announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to facilitate the use of LNG as a marine fuel at the Texas port.

“The Port of Corpus Christi Authority sees LNG fueling of marine vessels as an important step toward our broader commitment to decarbonization and improved air quality,” said CEO Sean Strawbridge. “We have a strong commitment to protecting our air attainment status, so by offering LNG as an alternative to diesel as a marine fuel within our gateway, we are evolving our sustainability protocols by reducing mobile source emissions.” 

According to the agreement, the port will provide access to dock space for shore-to-ship fueling operations while Stabilis will deploy its existing fleet of mobile cryogenic assets from its production plant in south Texas to support LNG fueling operations. 

“We applaud the Port of Corpus Christi and Stabilis for joining together on such an important endeavor to further the maritime sector’s efforts to decarbonize and reduce emissions,” said Peter Keller, chairman of SEA-LNG, a global industry coalition established to demonstrate LNG’s benefits as a marine fuel. 

3 C’s see Port of New York and New Jersey through 2020

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Click here for more American Shipper/FreightWaves stories by Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills.