DP World has announced that it has won a major concession to develop, operate and maintain a new container terminal at Deendayal port in Gujarat, on the western coast of India.

The contract was awarded by the Deendayal Port Authority on a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis.

Specifically, the project involves the construction of a mega-container terminal at Tuna-Tekra through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). Once complete, the terminal will include a 1,100-metre berth and will be capable of handling vessels with a carrying capacity of over 18,000 TEUs. The total capacity of the terminal will be 2.19 million TEUs.

According to DP World, the terminal is expected to help unlock future container traffic growth in India, catering to exports and imports from Northern, Western and Central India, reducing logistics costs and enhancing efficiencies across supply chains.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and CEO of DP World, commented, “India represents a significant landscape for opportunity. With the development of Tuna Tekra mega-container terminal in Gujarat, DP World will be well placed to capture these opportunities, further connecting Northern, Western and Central India with global trade and driving value for all our stakeholders.”

The project will complement initiatives of the Government of India, such as the PM Gati Shakti Master Plan and National Logistics Policy, which have been introduced to provide greater focus on developing multimodal logistics infrastructure promoting economic growth.

Vietnam’s government is considering investing up to US$800 million to add more inland container depots (ICDs) in the country by 2030.

According to the 2021-2030 ICD Development Plan that the Ministry of Transport submitted to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, ICD development will be focused on major ports such as Hai Phong in the country’s north and Cai Mep-Thi Vai in the south.

Vietnam Maritime Administration noted that of Vietnam’s current 10 ICDs, all but one are in the southern areas. Out of the 4.2 million TEUs processed by the ICDs annually, 3.65 million TEUs is handled by the southern region, with the sole ICD in the north accounting for just around 450,000 TEUs. To resolve this imbalance, further development of ICDs is needed. To meet the costs, the government is urged to consider public-private partnerships.

The transport ministry advises enlarging the ICDs’ aggregate annual capacity to 6 million to 8.7 million TEU by 2025. Beyond that, up till 2030, the capacity can be expanded by another 25% to 35%.

Vietnam’s inclination towards upgrading its container infrastructure is another sign of Asia becoming the focus of global tradeflows, after being a manufacturing region from the 1990s to the early 2000s.

Today, Asian economies have become major consumers, and nearly 60% of Asia’s exports are intra-region.

In 2022, a Singapore-based logistics firm, YCH Group, and Vietnamese conglomerate T&T Group, a Vietnamese conglomerate, obtained financing from a World Bank unit, International Finance Corporation, to develop a US$300 million ICD in Vinh Phuc, in northern Vietnam. The facility, known as Vietnam SuperPort, is expected to open in 2024.

TotalEnergies Marine Fuels has successfully completed its first refuelling of a Hapag-Lloyd container vessel in Singapore with sustainable, UCOME (Used Cooking Oil Methyl Ester)-based, marine biofuel.

This first bunker operation marks the start of a term supply agreement between the two companies, which commits TotalEnergies to provide VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) blended with 24% second-generation, waste-based and ISCC-certified UCOME to Hapag-Lloyd’s ships.

Based on a well-to-wake assessment, this B24 biofuel blend will reduce approximately 20% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions compared with conventional fuel oil, according to a statement.

As part of this operation, Hapag-Lloyd’s 15,000 TEU container vessel Afif took on 2,000 MT of biofuel on 20 January 2023. The ship-to-ship biofuel transfer was made possible with the services rendered by Jurong Port Universal Terminal Pte Ltd (JPUT), which also took on 100% UCOME bio-component into their storage tanks for the first time, which further underscores the significance of this operation.

Jan Christensen, senior director of global fuel purchasing at Hapag-Lloyd, commented, “This is another early step for Hapag-Lloyd on our decarbonisation journey. In combination with other green fuels, biofuel will play an important role towards a carbon-free environment by 2045. Consistent supply of biofuel in Singapore will allow us to offer sustainable transportation solutions to our customers, thereby supporting them in their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), India’s largest port operator, has released its third-quarter and nine-month results for the period ending 31 December 2022.

APSEZ carried 252.9 million metric tonnes of cargo from April to December 2022, an increase of 8% year on year. The rise in cargo volume was driven by a 23% increase in coal, an 8% increase in liquids (excluding oil), and a 5% growth in container volume. The automobile segment, though a small proportion of overall volumes, saw a significant 22% jump in volumes.

APSEZ said it handled 24% of India’s total cargo and retained its leadership position as the country’s largest port operator during the aforementioned nine-month period.

During the same period, the company’s revenue climbed by 16% year-on-year to US$1.8 billion, while port revenue increased by 22% and logistics revenue increased by 43%. Additionally, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 19% year-on-year to US$1.1 billion.

Amounts in Rs Cr

“Continuing with our growth journey, APSEZ is targeting FY24 EBITDA of Rs 14,500-15,000 Cr (US$1.7-US$1.8 billion). Besides an estimated capital expenditure of Rs 4,000-4,500 Cr (US$483-US$543 million), we are considering total loan repayment and prepayment of around Rs 5,000 Cr (around US$600 million), which will significantly improve our Net Debt to EBITDA ratio and bring it closer to 2.5x by March 24,” stated Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.

DP World handled 79 million TEUs throughout its global portfolio of container terminals in the previous year, with its gross container volumes increasing by 1.4% year-on-year. Additionally, the UAE-based operator reported 19.5 million TEUs in the last quarter of 2022.

DP World’s flagship box terminal in Jebel Ali saw 14 million TEUs in 2022, which represents a 1.7% increase compared with 2021 numbers.

The Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Australia, and Americas areas all saw growth in 2022 gross volume. Additionally, Jebel Ali (UAE), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Angola, Sokhna (Egypt), London Gateway (UK), Constanta (Romania), Caucedo (Dominican Republic), Posorja (Ecuador), DP World Santos (Brazil), and all of Australian ports (Brisbane, Sydney, Fremantle, and Melbourne) reported a good performance in the last year.

“We are delighted to report another solid volume performance with like-for-like growth of 2.8% in 2022, which is once again ahead of the industry forecast of a marginal decline of -0.5%,” stated group chairman and chief executive officer, Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

He added that “Growth was driven by the Asia Pacific, Americas and Australia region. Encouragingly, Jebel Ali’s (UAE) high margin origin & destination cargo grew by 8.6%, with overall volume growth steady at 1.7% for the year.”

The United States Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) making available more than US$662 million in Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 funding for MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).

The purpose of the PIDP investment is to modernise the country’s ports and help strengthen the supply chain sector in the US. The infrastructure package of the president of the US, Joe Biden, provides US$450 million annually in funding for the programme.

In addition, MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program discretionary grants help eligible applicants including port authorities, states, local governments, indigenous Tribal nations, counties, and other eligible entities complete critical port and port-related infrastructure projects.

Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips, commented, “The program also includes a statutory set-aside for small ports to continue to improve and expand their capacity to move freight reliably and efficiently, support local and regional economies, and support supply chain improvement.”

Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to support projects that improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods through ports and intermodal connections to ports.

MARAD will also consider how projects address climate change and sustainability, equity, and workforce development objectives.

McLaren Racing announced a partnership with DP World, a provider of supply chain logistics, as an οfficial partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team from 2023.

DP World will also become the lead partner of McLaren APEX, McLaren’s off-track business-to-business event programme, promoting influential collaborations across McLaren’s expansive partner network and beyond.

From the 2023 F1 season, DP World branding will feature on the 2023 McLaren F1 cars and the overalls of McLaren F1 Drivers, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

DP World said its smart logistics solutions will bring clarity and simplicity to efficiently bridge McLaren’s global and complex supplier network, to support the ongoing development process and on-track performance gains.

Mohammed Akoojee, chief operating officer of logistics, at DP World, commented, “We are delighted to join forces with Zak and the McLaren team at an extremely exciting time for both DP World and motorsports. We take great pride in leading innovation in global supply chains and this partnership will showcase our logistics capability alongside one of the most dynamic players in the sector.”