Latest News
20. May 2009
Outlook for 2009
The current financial and economic situation affects all areas of business, all over the world. To understand what is happening at this moment is difficult, to predict what will happen, is impossible.
We expect the market to continue to be driven by the same markets as we have seen in the past: South America, India and China. These markets have immense potential and are still rapidly developing, driven by a high rate of public and infrastructure investments. It is unlikely that they will reduce their development and infrastructure investments and it is not to be expected that they will adopt a protectionist trade policy.
The past years gave us the opportunity to prepare ourselves for the upcoming challenges. End of 2008 we finalized major structure changes and will be continuing expanding our global network to maximize customer satisfaction.
We are looking forward to a prosperous 2009 for the heavy lift and project cargo market.
04. May 2009
First turbine arrives at Punta Colorada
Blades and towers for the construction of 10 wind turbines at Barrick's Punta Colorada wind farm have arrived at the Port of Coquimbo in Chile. The turbines represent the first stage of Barrick's innovative renewable energy project, which will eventually consist of 18 wind turbines that will generate 36 megawatts of power.
"Within the framework of our Responsible Mining philosophy, and in the quest to improve the efficiency of our mines throughout the world, we are diversifying our energy plan", said Rodrigo Rivas, Corporate Affairs manager for Barrick Chile, at a presentation to the municipal council of La Higuera. "We have developed a series of initiatives in Chile, as well as in other countries where we currently operate, which will allow us to consolidate our operational needs with environmental protection."
The turbines convert the kinetic energy in the wind into mechanical power. The wind turns the blades, which spin a shaft that is connected to a generator that makes electricity.
The farm will be incorporated into the Chilean Central Interconnected System (CIS) to help meet the growing energy needs of the mining, industrial and residential sectors. The project will diversify the CIS electrical grid while reinforcing Barrick’s sustainable development policies and use of renewable energy sources.
The wind turbines are scheduled for installation in mid-2009. When it is built, the farm will be an important source of wind-generated energy. It will become operational once the Punta Colorada substation, whose primary function will be to transfer the energy produced at the farm to the CIS, is fully operational.
30. Mar 2009
New equipment for APM terminals
On March 3rd, 2009, APM Terminals Apapa received 4 Rubber Tyred Gantries (RTGs). The Noel RTGs commenced their 4 week voyage from China on the BBC Plata vessel and finally berthed at the terminal at 2200hrs. The much anticipated equipment couldn’t have come at a better time as the efficient utilization of yard space that they bring will help manage the congestion in the yard.
The acquisition of the Gantries is part of APMT Apapa’s continuous expansion and improvement of the terminal facility inherited from the Nigerian Ports Authority in 2006. Last year, APMTs focus was on improving capacity at the quayside which led to the addition of 3 STS Cranes and 2 mobile harbour cranes to its fleet of equipment which helped increase Apapa’s throughput from 409,751 TEUs in 2007 to 542,379 TEUs in 2008.
With these new RTGs, the capacity of the area of the yard currently being used for operations is expected to increase by 18% from 11,871 TEUs to 13,997 TEUs. The yard is currently being remodeled to make way for RTG operations which will allow containers to be stacked 5 high and 7 wide instead of 5 high 4 wide, as done in the past. These 4 RTGs are part of the first phase of the transition from full reach stackers operations to full RTG operations which is expected to translate to over 30% increase in maximum capacity of the container yard from 11,871 TEUs to about 16,000 TEUs.
The RTGs were launched by the Director of Maritime Services, of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Musa Karam representing the Minister of Transportation, Alhaji Isa Bio, who enjoined other terminal operators to emulate APM Terminals and make the necessary capital investment in accord with the development plans and objectives outlined in their concession agreements with the government.
According to the managing director of APM Terminals Apapa Ltd, Michael Lund Hansen, "APMT has invested over $100 million to date but it is important for us to underline that we continue to invest. These cranes were ordered more than one year ago and have been manufactured for Apapa. It is therefore an important day for us today as we take delivery."
The conversion from Reachstacker to RTG operations is a huge milestone for Apapa as it is expected to increase productivity significantly while providing a safer working environment, a higher level of visibility in the Nigerian maritime sector and an enhanced public image for the company.
Apapa, Nigeria's largest container terminal, has a current capacity of 530,000 TEU with plans to expand to 1.2M TEU by 2013. The 4 new RTGs will be the first along the Nigerian coast.
Find out more about APM terminals here.
25. Mar 2009
BBC Colombia S.A. opened up their doors for business
We are pleased to announce that we just opened a new BBC branch office in Bogota, Colombia.
BBC Columbia S.A. is a commercial office with its main activity being to strengthen and expand our business relationships with our clients in Colombia and also supporting our liner services to and from this area.
Please do not hesitate to contact our General Manager, Santiago Jimeno for any information you might need. Pleese see the contacts here.
25. Mar 2009
Office relocation – MPC S.r.l.
We are pleased to announce that MPC S.r.l. Genoa has relocated to new offices. Please take note of the new address and contact details here.
25. Mar 2009
Office relocation – APC Singapore
After 5 years APC Singapore outgrew their office and to keep up with the expansion of our team, we decided to move to bigger premises. Please take note that APC Singapore relocated to new offices.
Please find herewith the new address and contact details.
10. May 2008
New regulation for Brazilian ports
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT EFFECTIVE MARCH 31, 2008, WE AS CARRIER WE MUST SUBMIT ALL FINAL BILLS OF LADING TO BRAZILIAN AGENTS NO LATER THAN 72 HOURS BEFORE ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL AT FIRST PORT OF DISCHARGE. THIS IS A MANDATORY PROCEDURE, APPLICABLE TO ALL SHIPMENTS INBOUND, OUTBOUND, TRANSSHIPMENTS AND IN-TRANSIT CARGOES.
MERCHANT/SHIPPER IS REQUIRED TO INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ON BILLS OF LADING MASTERS PRESENTED TO THE CARRIER:
• Full address and contact information of Shipper/Consignee (Mandatory)
• Freight conditions and payment terms (Prepaid-Collect, Etc.)
• Containerized Shipments – Actual cargo gross weight, (without the container), measurement in cubic meters and type of packaging of product, i.e. bags, pallet, big bags, etc.
• Break-Bulk Shipments – Cargo gross weight, measurement in cubic meters and type of packaging of product, i.e. bags, big bags, pallet, crate, bundle, etc.
• CNPJ (the tax ID number of the legal entity) or CPF (in the case of an individual), of the shipper/consignee, which must be a registered and active user in the customs system
• NCM—Nomenclatura Comun do Mercosul which is the harmonized code for Mercosul—for each cargo. The NCM is composed of eight digits but only the first four digits will be required. In case when the cargo involves more than one NCM number, all must be supplied. (FAK and GDSM are not allowed as a cargo description - no need if cargo is to other destination in transit in Brazil.)
IMPORTANT
Bills of lading consigned “TO ORDER” are accepted but full address, contact information and the CNPJ (tax ID number of the legal entity) of the final consignee must be provided to BBC at least 5 working days before the estimated time of vessel’s arrival at the first Brazilian port of call. Once received, the information in the SISCARGA system must be updated. Non-compliance with this requirement will result in an automatic blocking of the cargo by customs and possible delays in its clearance.
Correction of Documentation for cargo to/via Brazil
a. Correction ca be accepted by Brazilian customs until 2 working days (48 working hours) before vessel arrival at the first Brazilian Port. After that deadline the cargo can be discharged to bonded warehouse, however delay, extra costs and heavy fines for customer will be unavoidable.
b. Corrections of the freight & charges must be followed by notarization & stamp.
c. If the consignee is manifested as NVOCC or “To order (of XXX)”, change/correction of consignee is not allowed.
Eletronic Manifest (All Export Cargoes to be Loaded) 18 working hours before vessel sailing of a brazilian port.
Late filing of documentation is subject to a fine, (estimated to be about US$3,000.00 per Bill of Lading). These charges will be per B/L and for Merchant / Shipper’s account.
If you have any doubt please contact your loading port or our focal point of siscarga system in Brazil:
Mr. Daniel Fernandes - daniel.fernandes(at)bbc-chartering.com
Phone +55 11 5542 7446
Please take this announcement as a onetime only, written notice.
We thank you before hand for your cooperation and continued support.
Respectfully,
BBC Chartering
24. Apr 2008
New primary terminal for BBC Liner Services
Manchester Terminal in Houston, TX has been added as an approved terminal for BBC's Liner Services. The first vessel to call the terminal is the BBC Campana (Voyage 0708) for the BBC Andino Express Line, followed by BBC Ecuador (Voyage AL0508) at the end of May for the BBC Americana Line. Manchester Terminal offers an abundance of covered and open storage. This terminal also offers rail access alongside the vessel.
28. Feb 2008
Launch of new Liner Services
- “BBC Andino Express Line European Service” - Europe to West Coast South America
- “BBC Americana Line European Service” - Europe to East Coast South America
The steady growing demand for a regular Service from Europe to South America for breakbulk and project cargo strengthen our trust in expanding our successful Liner Setup by offering monthly sailings from Northern Europe.
Therefore we are proud to announce two new liner services expanding the existing Americana and Andino Line. With this setup we are complementing our engagement in Europe and South America. As result we expect an increase of performance through combining the steady sailings of a liner service with the flexibility of our tramp fleet!
The setup contains one regular sailing per month and service (East Coast and West Coast) with performing tonnage following booking demands; availability from 7,000 dwat up to 12,000 dwat and lifting capacity up to 500 mts.
More than 140 vessels give us the flexibility to cover special or additional requests within the liner setup.
Bookings and port operations are handled by a network of high experienced liner agencies close to local markets and customer demands. Through this we assure proficient and reliable handling even on highly sensitive and just-in-time cargos.
Within the last 10 years we distinguished ourselves as reliable partner to industries and forwarders. The range of our customers includes small size companies as well as global players from any world region. The demand is the same; the highest professionalism, reliability, efficiency and performance.
