Displaying items by tag: Shipping
Damen shipyard upgrades cement carrier
16 January 2018Netherlands: The Damen shipyard at Oranjewerf in Amsterdam has upgraded the cement carrying capacity of the Lelie C owned by Cebo Marine. Eight new cement silos, with a capacity of 40m3 each, have been installed on the vessel alongside general maintenance.
The silos were previously fitted on the VOS Symphony prior to it going for scrap. Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf removed the tanks, refurbished them and then installed them on board the Lelie C. The shipyard also built a silo foundation and fitted it in the vessel’s hold. 80m of stiffeners were welded into place in the double bottom tanks to provide the necessary support. Alongside this, approximately 100m² of grating walkway was fabricated and fitted on the deck to give access to the manifolds on each of the new silos. The supply and discharge and air pipe system for the two existing silos was also refurbished to accommodate the new capacity.
“Two years ago we installed the original tanks from the Ritske, a vessel belonging to the same client, and now we have repeated the process again, this time on a much larger scale. The Lelie C began her life as a general cargo vessel, but now her transformation into a cement carrier is complete,” said Jeen van der Werf, Commercial Manager at Damen Shiprepair Oranjewerf.
Vietnam: Ha Tien 1 Cement has warned that a local government scheme in Ho Chi Minh City to replace cement grinding plants with distribution terminals could cost US$62m. The cement producer made the comments as part of a discussion on the development of building materials in the city, according to the Saigon Times newspaper. The government plans to shut down the cement pants on environmental grounds and to move them out of the city.
At present Ho Chi Minh City has 10 cement grinding plants and terminals with a capacity of over 10Mt/yr but this is below the city’s requirements. By 2020, the city may have a shortfall of 3.3Mt/yr. The city plans to build three terminals with a capacity of 1.2Mt/yr each. However, Ha Tien 1 Cement said that transport and loading fees would be huge as the city will require ships to transport cement from northern ports. In addition, the city will have to build special ports to receive bulk cement shipments from the north as the majority of the ports have no facilities for bulk cement.
Qeshm Cement prepares cement exports to Mozambique
23 August 2017Mozambique: Iran’s Qeshm Cement Company has prepared its first consignment of cement and clinker for exports to Mozambique. 47,000t of clinker and 3000t of clinker will be shipped on a free on board trade basis, according to the Bourse Press Agency. Hormoz Amiri, an official at Iran’s Qeshm Free Zone, added that the trading enclave plans to export 0.2Mt/yr of cement and clinker to Africa in the current Iranian financial year.
Canada: NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers’ (NACC) Canadian subsidiary has been awarded a long-term time charter agreement with Lafarge Canada, for the provision of a modern pneumatic cement carrier early in 2018. A bulk carrier owned by NACC will be converted into a pneumatic cement carrier. It will have maximum cargo deadweight in excess of 12,500t. The conversion process is expected to take around 10 months.
The vessel will primarily carry cement from Lafarge Canada's cement plant in Bath, Ontario to distribution facilities throughout the Great Lakes but the vessel will be capable of other services for Lafarge. NACC Shipping Canada will operate and manage the vessel in Canada. No duration for the contract has been released.
McInnis Cement starts building terminal in New York
21 April 2017US: Canada’s McInnis Cement has started building a terminal in the South Bronx region of New York. The 6930m2 warehouse will be able to store 43,000t of cement and load up to 80 trucks/day. Cement will be delivered to the site from McInnis’ plant in Port-Daniel, Gascons, Quebec. A barge-mounted ship unloader travelling between New York and Providence will be used to pneumatically transfer the cement into the warehouse.
Additional features to the terminal include a 24-hour operations schedule, rooftop solar panels and a fully enclosed truck load out system will mitigate dust. The site was chosen due to its access to the New York City Harbour. The area is also expected to see an investment of over US$45bn towards infrastructure projects and another US$6bn towards repairs following Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
“We are very excited to being one step closer to delivering cement to our customers in this area and along the east coast,” said McInnis Cement chief executive officer, Herve Mallet. “Once complete, the facility will set a new standard for development in the New York City Harbour, placing in harmony an industrial operation, with a natural wildlife habitat and waterfront access for citizens of the South Bronx.”
Bedeschi provides update on terminal for Sönmez Çimento
22 March 2017Turkey: Bedeschi has released more information about its contract with Sönmez Çimento to help build a clinker and cement export terminal in the Adana Yumurtalık Free Zone. The contract was awarded in April 2016. A slewing, luffing and travelling type shiploader, equipped with a telescopic chute, will be installed at the plant’s port terminal. The shiploader will be able to load vessels of up to 55,000DW and beam 32.2m. The nominal loading capacity of the machine is of 1000t/hr with a peak flow rate of 1100t/hr. The equipment will include de-dusting systems, such as filters, installed on board to reduce the dust pollution caused by material flow between belt conveyors.
Semen Padang starts cement exports to Australia
23 February 2017Australia: Semen Padang, a subsidiary of Semen Indonesia, has started exporting cement to Australia. It delivered 22t of cement to Sydney on 21 February 2017 on the Meratus Minahasa V.1705S, according to the Jakarta Post. Commercial director Pudjo Suseno said that the shipment was made in response to demand from potential Australian buyers revealed at the end of 2016. The cement producer has previously sold exports to countries including Bangladesh, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. It exported 396,000t of cement and 90,000t of clinker in 2016.
Cement mill shipped to Djibouti
09 September 2016Djibouti: Gulf Agency Services has shipped a cement ball mill and its components to Djibouti, according to Breakbulk. The mill was shipped from Jebel Ali, UAE to the Port of Djibouti. Gulf Agency Services is an associate company of Maritime Transport International that is base in Djibouti.
Pakistan records strong cement sales growth in mid-2016 despite Afghan export drop
07 September 2016Pakistan: Total cement despatches in Pakistand during the first two months of the current fiscal year clocked up at 4.9Mt, a 14% increase from 4.3Mt recorded in same period of 2015-16. However, according to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), overall export despatches have decreased: Exports in July-August were down almost 1% on a year-on-year basis to 1.022Mt. Overall domestic sales in August rose 21% to 3.02Mt from 2.5Mt in August 2015. Cement sales in the north zone were 2.495Mt in August, up 22.6% from a year ago. In the south zone sales recorded an increase of 13.2% at 0.532Mt from the same month of 2015.
Exports to Afghanistan dropped 12% to 346,928t in July-August on an annual basis, APCMA data shows. Exports by sea suffered even more. As opposed to 537,120t exported during the first two months of the preceding fiscal year, exports by sea in July-August 2016 were 407,120t, showing 24% decline on an annual basis.
However, increased exports to India made up for these shortfalls to some extent. Exports to India during the first two months of the current fiscal year grew 167% year on year to 268,230t.
A spokesman for the APCMA said the industry has been doubling its production capacity every seven to eight years. The buoyancy in the sector on the back of healthy domestic consumption during the last 20 months has encouraged the industry players to go for further capacity expansion. He said growth in the sector during the first two months of the fiscal year was in spite of Eid holidays. Growth of domestic consumption in August was also 'impressive,' as consistent rains failed to hurt construction activities, he added. He said upcoming projects along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will further boost cement consumption.
The industry has yet to realise its export potential due to the lack of support from the government. The loss of the Afghanistan market is a matter of concern for the industry, which has been marginalised there because of subsidised Iranian exports.
Australia: Australian Bauxite has completed its second and largest shipment of cement-grade bauxite, comprising 35,913t, from its Bald Hill mine.
“We have now demonstrated to all our customers that we can load and ship large tonnage cargos of bauxite very efficiently from Bell Bay Port. It also demonstrates that our stockpiles of bauxite performs very well, having withstood the recent major floods in northern Tasmania, without degrading. This is another landmark step for the company,” said Australian Bauxite’s Chief Operating Officer, Leon Hawker.
The mining company intends to sell its bauxite products into three main markets including cement-grade bauxite for the production of high specification cement. It re-opened its Bald Hill Bauxite Project at Campbell Town in northern Tasmania in early August 2016 ahead of the scheduled date.