DP World Limited revealed on 25th July that the company had handled 34.0 million TEUs across its global portfolio of container terminals in the first half of 2017, with gross container volumes growing by 7.7% on a like-for-like basis, with second quarter growth rates accelerating to 10.4% on a like-for-like basis. The first half of 2017 witnessed an improvement in global trade and all three DP World regions saw growth rates increase in the second quarter of 2017, particularly at the terminals in Europe and the Americas. The UAE handled 7.7 million TEU January-June, a 4.3% increase year-on-year. At a consolidated level, DP World’s terminals handled 17.9 million TEU during the first half of 2017, a 22.4% improvement on 2016.

Fosen Yard of Norway and China’s Hantong Shipbuilding agreed in July on to form a joint venture to construct RoPax, RoRo and cruise vessels. The joint venture will be named Fosen Hantong and became effective immediately. Under the agreement, Hantong plans to co-operate exclusively with Fosen Yard for all business within the aforementioned segment initially for a period of eight years. A design and development company is to be established in Trondheim, Norway, with an aim to develop and provide marine design and technology.

Newbuilding orders for dry and liquid bulk cargo ships increased during the first half of 2017 but the overall volume of ship orders placed during that period has more than halved compared to the same period in 2015. Reports suggest that a total of 245 new orders were placed January-June 2017 compared to 594 in the first half of 2015.

P&O Ports has won a three-year management contract to operate the container terminal in the Port de Sete in the south of France.

Peel Port’s Liverpool2 deepwater container terminal will get a facelift over the next two years, less than 10 months after opening, giving the port the ability to manage cargo from two 380m long vessels simultaneously. Three more ship to shore cranes will be installed, adding to the five already at the terminal, and 10 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes to operate alongside the 12 existing ones. Peel Ports will also expand the terminal and add new reefer points to handle more refrigerated containers.

Port of Felixstowe announced on 24th July that two new gantry cranes for Berths 8 & 9 had been ordered and work has started to raise 10 of the existing cranes on Trinity Terminal at the port. The new cranes, ordered from ZPMC in Shanghai, will bring to 12 the number on the port’s newest terminal. They will have a 59.5m outreach from the quay, sufficient to allow them to handle future generations of container vessels with containers stowed up to 24- wide across the deck.

Port of Rotterdam reported on 21st July that it had registered growth in container throughput for the first six months of this year, aided by higher productivity of terminals and a sharp increase in feeder traffic. From January to June 2017, Rotterdam port handled 6.7m TEU, up 9.3% compared to 6.09m TEU recorded in the same period of last year.

STX France was, according to an announcement on 28th July, to be “temporarily nationalised” by the new French President, Emmanuel Macron, after he halted the proposed acquisition of STX France by Fincantieri. The government’s share purchase rights are being exercised as an intermediate measure. In May the Italian state-owned shipbuilder had agreed to pay €79.5 million for a 66.66% share of STX France from parent company STX Europe, with the French state retaining its 33.34% stake. The deal was expected to be concluded in July.

STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co. of South Korea was released from a court-led reorganisation programme on 3rd July and has since won new orders. The shipbuilder has secured a $140 million order from a Greek shipping company to build four 50,000dwt midsize tankers, the first offshore order in 20 months. Construction will commence at the Jinhae shipyard and delivery of the vessels will be completed by the first quarter of 2019.