The volume of containers passing through world ports has grown from 279.3 million TEU in 2002 to 588.8 million TEU in 2011, according to the “Global Container Terminal Operators Annual Review & Forecast 2012” issued by Drewry Maritime Research. During that period, Chinese ports' share of container volume has grown from 19% to 30%, it said, and the largest container ship has grown from 7,000 TEU to 15,000.

The port of Rotterdam will receive EUR 5 million from the European Union program for the Trans-European Transport Network, it said. The money is for a rail terminal and inland shipping cranes at the new container terminals. The Netherlands also received funding for the planned sea lock in the Ghent-Terneuzen canal, it said.

The Port of Miami and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed the construction agreement that will allow the Deep Dredge project to go out for bid, the port said. "The project agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the final step prior to advertising for the construction contract," said port director Bill Johnson. "We are on schedule to complete the Deep Dredge at the same time the expanded Panama Canal opens." The Deep Dredge will deepen the port's existing channels to minus 50/52 feet to prepare for the Panama Canal expansion, now scheduled for completion in early 2015.

The talks between the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance broke down after three days, the USMX said. The current contract expires Sept. 30. ILA officials didn't immediately comment.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners awarded $5.4 million in grants to nonprofit groups, agencies and port tenants to fund 28 projects that will reduce, avoid or capture emissions of greenhouse gases, the port said. The projects include solar-powered hot water and electricity systems, energy-efficient outdoor lighting, electric vehicles, tree planting and water-saving landscaping. Of the money, $5 million came from the Middle Harbor redevelopment project and $400,000 from the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project.

Members of the International Longshoremen's Association protested Aug. 20 outside the U.S. Marine Barracks in Washington, D.C., about the loss of union work handling military cargo at the Port of Charleston, S.C. Others have continued picketing at the Port of Charleston, the union said. The concern is that the U.S. Marines are allowing Portus Stevedoring Co. to move its military cargo operation from Jacksonville, Fla., to Charleston, bypassing the use of ILA workers in Charleston. The ILA said Portus intends to use members of the International Union of Operating Engineers and perhaps even non-union workers to work the vessel Lewis and Clark at Joint Base Charleston beginning Aug. 27.

Fitch Ratings assigned an 'AA+' rating to a group of Virginia Port Authority bonds that are expected to be offered Aug. 28, and affirmed the 'AA+' rating on $224.9 million of existing bonds. The bonds are expected to be paid from money appropriated and allocated monthly for such purpose by the state General Assembly, and the rating is one notch below the state's rating.

Port Metro Vancouver said it had healthy continued growth of 6 percent in the first half of 2012. It said the port handled 62.3 million tons of cargo through the end of June and is on track for another strong year. Total foreign tonnage at Port Metro Vancouver posted a 6 percent increase with 49 million tons. Domestic tonnage increased 6 percent to 13.3 million tons.

A multi-billion dollar investment is required for North American ports to meet the demands of the post-Panama Canal expansion environment, according to Colliers International's North American Port Analysis Report. It said only eight U.S. ports are on track to be Post-Panamax ready by 2015. By 2030, 60 to 70 percent of the world's container fleet will be 18-22 containers wide, the report said, too large for many U.S. ports to accommodate.

The port of San Diego and Dole Fresh Fruit plan to sign a 24.5-year lease agreement Aug. 14 that covers 954,864 square feet of space at the port's Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, they said. Under the agreement, the port and Dole will work together on infrastructure improvements that will improve cargo operations at the Port, and improve the environment for the neighboring community. The port will invest about $7 million in shore power equipment at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, so the vessels use the shore power while berthed at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, reducing their diesel emissions. The new lease also extends Dole's operating area to a warehouse offsite of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, eliminating truck staging and off-terminal operations from nearby residential areas. The port receives about 95,000 twenty-foot containers of Dole fruit per year.