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Megaship Docks in L.A. as Change Roils Shipping Industry

MULTIZ321

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Megaship Docks in L.A. as Change Roils Shipping Industry - by Chris Kirkham/ Business/ Los Angeles Times/ latimes.com

"The largest container ship ever to arrive at a North American port is now docked at the southern tip of Los Angeles, a sign of the rapid changes underway in the global shipping industry.

The CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, which arrived Saturday at the Port of Los Angeles on a maiden voyage from China and South Korea, can carry nearly a third more cargo than the largest ships that currently call at the San Pedro Bay ports.

In an effort to move more cargo on less fuel, ocean freight carriers are in a race to build megaships with much larger capacities than the typical ships calling at U.S. ports. The average container ship being built now is nearly three times the size of the average a decade ago..."

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L.A. Ports Struggle With Revolution in Shipping


Richard
 

pedro47

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Have many smaller container ships will not be built in the industry in the next five years or will this cause an increase in building larger and larger new container ships.
 

Passepartout

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a big thing (pun intended) is that the newly expanded locks on the Panama Canal are expected to open in May. Currently a 'Panamax' ship has to fit in a 1000' X 105' lock. The 6 new locks on the canal will be 1400' X 140'. Shipbuilders are hurrying to tool up to produce ships to capitalize on this new efficiency.

Not that I am any sort of expert on international shipping, but last month we transited the Panama Canal and I listened to the engineers and historians describe the changes.

Jim
 

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a big thing (pun intended) is that the newly expanded locks on the Panama Canal are expected to open in May. Currently a 'Panamax' ship has to fit in a 1000' X 105' lock. The 6 new locks on the canal will be 1400' X 140'. Shipbuilders are hurrying to tool up to produce ships to capitalize on this new efficiency.

Not that I am any sort of expert on international shipping, but last month we transited the Panama Canal and I listened to the engineers and historians describe the changes.

Jim

I think it was the shipbuilders who forced the locks to expand. There are post Panamax ships and I am sure when the locks open ships will be built or already have been built that are post post panamax. The US east coast ports have been having to make their ports bigger in anticipation.

May may be the month when the locks are ready but no guarantee. Suppose to be ready almost 2 years ago. I am going to a resort on the banks of the canal in July. Maybe it will be that week.
 

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True. There are already 'post Panamax' ships because the expansion has been delayed and cost over runs. The cruise ship we took through was a Panamax, and Celebrity already has 4 (or maybe 5) ships that are too big to fit the canal.

Transiting was far more interesting than I expected. The ship paid almost $400,000 toll for the crossing- roughly $150 per passenger & crew member. I felt I got my money's worth. Those huge container ships pay much less.

I hope it is open by the time you are there. It truly is a spectacle.

Jim
 

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Always was going to be cost overruns.

I did a partial transit a few years ago but in a tour boat. A big cruise ship would be much nicer. It is amazing the big ships can fit through the locks. On approach they do not look like they will.

It is expensive to go through the locks and do not worry that money get spread around through honest work and corruption.

When handing over the canal the mistake was made not to include a clause that limited how much could be charged. With cheaper oil, rates must have come down but before the pricing was based on being slightly cheaper then going around. But faster and safer.

There are a lot of ships empty on both sides of the canal waiting for work.

True. There are already 'post Panamax' ships because the expansion has been delayed and cost over runs. The cruise ship we took through was a Panamax, and Celebrity already has 4 (or maybe 5) ships that are too big to fit the canal.

Transiting was far more interesting than I expected. The ship paid almost $400,000 toll for the crossing- roughly $150 per passenger & crew member. I felt I got my money's worth. Those huge container ships pay much less.

I hope it is open by the time you are there. It truly is a spectacle.

Jim
 

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The skill of the Pilots who sail the ships through the locks amazes me. I spent a long weekend in Panama City and toured the locks. Watching the ships fit with only inches to spare on each side was astounding. The Pilots deserve every penny they are paid. One mistake could possibly close the whole canal system.

I also saw a part of the new canal. The amount of dirt being moved is mind boggling.

Cheers
 

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Also, now the new mega cruise ships (5,000 + cruisers on a ship) can use the locks after May.
 

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The skill of the Pilots who sail the ships through the locks amazes me. I spent a long weekend in Panama City and toured the locks. Watching the ships fit with only inches to spare on each side was astounding.
Cheers

Our ship was 996 feet long in a 1000 foot lock and 102 wide in 105. That's closer than I will park my car at the mall.

At the next stop, the crew had a little touch-up painting to do.
 

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Last I heard was 20k a month. Maybe 50 times that of minimum wage. The highest paid (salaried) normal job in the country.
 

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Newly Expanded Panama Canal Set to be Inaugurated on June 26, Officials Say - by FoxNewsLatino/ Money/ latino.foxnews.com

"Better late than never.

Originally scheduled to be concluded in October 2014, the newly expanded Panama Canal will be inaugurated on June 26, Panama announced on Wednesday.

The canal, which links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, underwent an extensive renovation to allow modern, larger cargo ships through its locks..."

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A view of Panama Canal expansion project on Friday, March 18, 2016. (ap)


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Panama Canal Opens $5 Billion Locks, Bullish Despite Shipping WOES - byJuan Zamorano, Associated Press/ AP/ apnewsarchive.com

PANAMA CITY (AP) — With a band playing and flags waving, a Chinese ship carrying more than 9,000 containers on Sunday entered the newly expanded locks that will double the Panama Canal's capacity in a multibillion-dollar bet on a bright economic future despite tough times for international shipping.

Several tug boats pulled "Cosco Shipping Panama" into the new locks at Agua Clara under a cloudy sky in Colon province, about 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) north of the capital.

"This is the route that unites the world," said Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela.

Thousands of Panamanians who began gathering before dawn to witness the inauguration of the canal's expansion waved the national flag as the band struck up a song.

"It's a one-time experience, a great achievement," said Felicia Penuela, a housewife from Colon province. "Panama is showing the world that even though it is a small country it can do great things."

Nearly two years late due to construction delays and labor strife, the $5.25 billion project formally launched with the transit of the 158-foot-wide (48.2 meters), 984-foot-long (300 meters), Chinese-owned container ship. It's one of the modern class of mega-vessels that will now be able to use the canal.

With 30,000 people and eight foreign heads of state expected to attend the daylong festivities, officials are bullish..."

CBImages

Thousands of spectators watch as the Panama flagged, COSCO Shipping Neopanamax cargo ship, prepares to cross the new new Agua Clara locks, part of the Panama Canal expansion project, near the port city of Colon, Panama, Sunday June 26, 2016. Authorities are hosting a big bash to inaugurate newly expanded locks that will double the Canal's capacity, as the country makes a multibillion-dollar bet on a bright economic future despite tough times for international shipping.. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)


Richard
 

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The $5 Billion Panama Canal Expansion Opens Sunday, Amidst Shipping Concers - by Carrie Kahn/ World/ National Public Radio (NPR)/ npr.org

"After more than $5 billion and close to a decade of construction, Panama opens the long awaited expansion of its storied canal. Set to potentially double its current cargo, the expansion has weathered cost disputes, serious questions regarding its design and a global slump in international shipping.

Will the canal bring the benefits promised to this tiny Central America nation?

The eyes and hopes of a country are all on Landon Rankin come Sunday morning. Rankin, who has more than 30 years experience piloting cargo ships, will guide one of the world's largest vessels through the just completed expanded Panama Canal.

"It's a challenge . . . and I am excited about that," Rankin says, speaking from his office at the Panama Canal Pilot's union hall in the capitol.

Rankin says the challenge is just the latest for the Canal expansion, which is more than two years behind schedule, at least $1 billion over budget and prompting serious questions about its feasibility.

Bad timing for global shipping ..."

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Aerial view showing the new Panama Canal expansion at the Gatun Locks in Colon, Panama. Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela is set to host an inauguration ceremony of Panama's newly expanded canal on Sunday.
Rodrigo Arangua/AFP/Getty Images


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I am probably going to bring my kids this week to see the expanded canal. Or in 2 weeks when we are staying at Gamboa for a vacation.
 

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Rolls-Royce Expects Remote-Controlled Cargo Ships by 2020 - by Jon Fingas/ Transportation/ Engadget/ engadget.com

"Autonomous ships wouldn't be that far behind.

Rolls-Royce isn't limiting its robotic transportation plans to luxury cars. The British transportation firm has outlined a strategy for deploying remote-controlled and autonomous cargo vessels. It's working on virtual decks where land-based crews could control every aspect of a ship, complete with VR camera views and monitoring drones to spot issues that no human ever could. Accordingly, Rolls is designing boats where humans wouldn't have to come aboard. In theory, one human would steer several boats -- crew shortages would disappear overnight.

The move to crew-free ships promises more than a few advantages, Rolls says. You wouldn't need a bridge or living quarters, so you'd have much more room for the goods you're hauling. They'd be safer and more efficient, too, since you'd cut out many human errors (not to mention the direct risks from rough weather and pirates) and streamline operations. Robotic ships might cut the number of available jobs, but they would let distant crews handle more complex tasks without being overwhelmed...."

Richard
 

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Amid Industry Downturn, Global Shipping See Record-Low Growth - by Jackie Northam/ Markets/ Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday/ Parallels, Many Stories, One World/ National Public Radio (NPR)/ npr.org

"The massive container ships that ply the high seas bring us pineapples and mangoes in winter, and computers and cheap t-shirts all year round. But the shipping industry is a volatile, cyclical and ferociously competitive business. There are good years and bad years.

And then there's this year.

"This is likely to be one of the worst years ever in terms of losses," says Janet Porter, editor-in-chief of containers at Lloyd's List, a shipping industry news provider. She says over the years, global shipping companies got used to growth of 6, 7 or 8 percent. This year it'll be close to zero..."

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After its maiden voyage from China, the largest container ship to ever make port in North America, unloads its cargo in the Port of Los Angeles on Dec. 26, 2015. The major shipping companies in Europe and Asia began ordering the state-of-the-art, supersized ships back in 2011, when times were better.
Scott Varley/AP


Richard
 
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