The White House announced President Biden’s appointment of former Milwaukee port director, Adam Tindall-Schlicht, as the next Administrator of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (GLS). Tindall-Schlicht resigned his position at Port Milwaukee on October 19.

An agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the GLS is responsible for operation of U.S. portions of the St. Lawrence Seaway. It works in partnership with it’s Canadian counterpart to maintain a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible deep draft waterway connecting Great Lakes ports with world markets and global trade. The agency also works closely with ports to market the Seaway system, develop trade, and enhance commerce in the region.

The U.S. Seaway has been without an Administrator since 2016 when former Ohio Congresswoman Betty Sutton left the post. In April, 2022, 40 members of the House and Senate wrote to President Biden urging that the position be filled.

Tindall-Schlicht, who served as director of Port Milwaukee since 2018, will be the first Great Lakes port director to serve as Administrator since Dave Oberlin, former Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Oberlin was Seaway Administrator from 1969-1983.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach and C40 Cities have begun discussions to establish a green and digital shipping corridor between Singapore and the San Pedro Bay port complex. The corridor will focus on low- and zero-carbon fuels for bunkering, as well as digital tools to support deployment of low- and zero-carbon ships.

This collaborative effort supports the Green Shipping Challenge launched during the World Leaders’ Summit at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this week. Convened by the United States and Norway, the Green Shipping Challenge encourages governments, ports, maritime carriers, cargo owners and others in the shipping value chain to commit to concrete steps at COP27 to galvanize global action to decarbonize the shipping industry.

As hub ports, Singapore, Los Angeles and Long Beach are vital nodes on the trans-Pacific shipping lanes and key stakeholders in the maritime sector’s green transition. The three ports and C40 Cities will work closely with other stakeholders in the maritime and energy value chains to accelerate the deployment of low- and zero-carbon emission solutions, identify digital shipping programs, and develop green fuel sources for bunkering to support efficient cargo movement. In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the green and digital shipping corridor aims to catalyze investment in green infrastructure, including zero-carbon energy hubs linked to port and shipping demand.

Teo Eng Dih, Chief Executive of MPA, said, “The trans-Pacific corridor is one of the busiest trade routes in the world. MPA is pleased to support the development of a green and digital shipping corridor with the USA through the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, given their strong connectivity and existing initiatives with C40 Cities. Through this corridor, we hope to support the decarbonization of global supply chains, complementing efforts undertaken by the industry and the International Maritime Organization to drive the decarbonization and digital transition for international shipping.”

Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, said: “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the maritime supply chain is essential, and this trans-Pacific partnership will help us build a network of ports and key stakeholders to help decarbonize goods movement throughout the Pacific region. We look forward to coordinating with our partners to develop an implementation plan on this critical initiative.”

Mario Cordero, Port of Long Beach Executive Director, said “Decarbonizing the supply chain is the future of our industry, and partnerships like this on the world’s most important trade route are important for fulfilling that ultimate goal. We’re excited about developing this initiative in the coming months and what it means for making operations more efficient while advancing the fight against global warming.”

Mark Watts, C40 Executive Director, said: “Accelerating efforts to decarbonize the shipppng sector is urgent if we are to limit global heating to 1.5°C. This initiative has the potential to serve a range of carriers and routes by reimagining infrastructure designs and operational best practices, and advancing the feasibility of zero-carbon fuel production, supply, storage and bunkering.”

According to GMS, “some unbelievably low and unrealistic offers” have started to emerge from sub-continent markets this week, and as such, both owners and cash buyers would be well advised to leave ship recycling destinations alone for the time-being, especially until some sort of floor is reached and stability regains a foothold.

It has become increasingly difficult to obtain any firm or serious offers from any recycling market, GMS reports, as currencies continue to suffer across all recycling destinations and steel endures further volatile moves this week.

Workable L/Cs are of chief concern in Bangladesh where end buyers are struggling to obtain any sort of financing from local banks, amidst strict and ongoing governmental regulations on precious foreign currency reserves in the country.

On the rare occasion when an end buyer is able to open a workable L/C in Bangladesh (mostly on smaller LDT tonnage), the numbers offered are so pitifully low, it’s nearly instantaneous to see tonnage withdrawn and re-directed towards competing markets.

Finally, at the far end, after holding on and displaying some sort of stability (even though it’s in the dumps), things couldn’t get worse for Aliaga Buyers as steel prices took a small tumble this week and the Lira gradually slips further.

Overall, the economic situation across the recycling destinations remains precarious, with currencies weakening by the day and a shortage of U.S. Dollars in those countries, governments and banks are failing to sanction suitable financing for a ship recycling that they do not see as imperative under the current climate.

For week 44 of 2022, GMS demo rankings / pricing for the week are as below.

Dubai-owned ports giant DP World intends to invest around $500 million to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in its operations by 700,000 tonnes over the next five years, state news agency WAM reported on Monday, citing the company’s chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

DP World’s plans include transitioning its global fleet from diesel to electric power, investing in renewable energy, and exploring fuel alternatives, Sulayem said via video conference during the COP27 summit in Egypt, WAM added.

GEA marked the official start of construction of its new repair, logistics, assembly, production and training facility in Janesville, Wis. The groundbreaking ceremony of GEA’s first greenfield site in North America in 50 years was attended by company representatives and officials from the State of Wisconsin and City of Janesville.

GEA will invest more than $20 million in the new site in response to growing demand for separators, decanters, valves, pumps and homogenizers which are at the heart of many industrial production processes.

The 85,000 square foot-building is scheduled for completion in late 2023. In addition to modern office space, the facility will house a training center for customers and employees. The remaining space will be used for the repair of mechanical equipment and logistics. Located approximately 80 miles west of Milwaukee and 40 miles south of Madison, the new GEA facility will create more than 70 jobs.

For GEA, the North American market is the third largest in terms of revenue. In the financial year 2021, GEA North America generated revenue of 835 million Euros and counted almost 1,600 employees.

DP World recently opened its doors to students from the top universities in UAE and India to  reimagine global supply chains and create new technology-driven solutions in its first-ever innovation challenge, THE BIG TECH PROJECT.

DP World challenged the university students to design and build prototypes of their proposed trade solutions, under the expert guidance of mentors from DP World’s Global Technology team. After receiving dozens of entries, four finalists have now been selected, with three from India and one from the UAE. They will be flown on an all-expenses paid trip to Dubai in November to present their solutions to DP World’s THE BIG TECH PROJECT jury.

The grand finale will take place at the end of November where the finalists will compete for DP World’s first-ever Student Innovators title. All finalists will be given guaranteed internships at DP World and Macbook laptops, while the winner and runner up will receive cash prizes as well.

“By digitizing a traditionally analogue industry, DP World aims to make trade smarter, to keep it flowing, increase visibility and minimize disruption. This is how trade networks fit for the future are built. Initiatives like THE BIG TECH PROJECT will help us accelerate this trend by tapping into the creativity of some of the brightest young minds in India and the UAE. I am excited to see the solutions these student innovators have devised to solve real world problems,” said DP World Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

The four finalists are from [University/Solution]:

1. Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Abu Dhabi, UAE
   A 3D visual guidance equipment maintenance and inspection system for port terminal equipment.
2. International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore, India
   Leveraging the metaverse to give students a real-time understanding of daily life in different careers, help them make informed decisions.
3. IIIT Bangalore, India
   VR experience for Dragonmart where customers and wholesalers can benefit mutually.
4. IIT Kharagpur, India
   Digital-twin solution to tackle harbour congestion, unpredictable demand and unreliable operations.

Port Canaveral has signed an agreement with the Liebherr Group to acquire another mobile harbor crane from the company to support the Port’s growing cargo operations. The 320-foot-tall Liebherr LMH 600 is the second mobile harbor crane to be deployed at Port Canaveral and is part of a new mobile harbor crane product line recently launched by Liebherr. The Port’s first, a Liebherr LMH 600, was entered into service in early 2019.

“This new mobile harbor crane is an important acquisition to enhance our abilities to accommodate an expanding portfolio of diverse cargo, especially at the pace we’re projecting in the coming year,” Port CEO Capt. John Murray explained. “This crane will have greater lift capability that will also meet the needs of the expanding commercial space enterprise in our region.”

In August, the Canaveral Port Authority Board of Commissioners approved the $7.4 million acquisition cost for the new crane, which will be offset by a $2.8 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation. The new mobile harbor crane is expected to arrive at Port Canaveral in December 2023.

Built by German-based Liebherr Group, the LMH 600 is a 128-wheeled, 696-ton crane that will be 74-tons heavier than the Port’s current LMH 600. The new crane will have lift capability up to 154 tons and a jib length of 200 feet. Its 20-container reach will accommodate containers stacked nine high on deck – an upgraded handling capability from the previous model generation – and its undercarriage will have 32 axel sets compared to 26. A new crane control system, advanced sensor integration and digital information transmission can enable future assistance and partial automation systems.