Key Topics

Located on Colombia’s Caribbean coast, the Port of Cartagena has grown substantially by developing relationships and earning expertise as a major transshipment hub. By Tom Hranac—  As container trade volumes and ship sizes have grown, so too has the importance of transshipment hubs in container shipping networks, including those in Latin America. But it takes much more than location or ...

Dredging is a demanding task – but for a port to deliver more and better economic benefits to its region, it has to take on the tough projects, and dredging is one of them. By Lori Musser—  Every port, even those fortunate few carved deeply by receding glaciers, have to dredge at some point. It is a demanding task – ...

We have a lot of work to do in order to ensure that our water resources system can sustain the competitiveness of the American economy and protect our national security, and WRRDA 2016 offers a critical, timely opportunity to do just that. By Congressman Garret Graves (LA-06)— The United States is a maritime nation. Much of our country’s success, and ...

Find out about your local seafarers’ welfare organization and see what you might be able to bring to the table. By Jason Zuidema, North American Maritime Ministry Association— In ports around North America, more than 70,000 Christmas gifts were given this past Christmas. A warm hat and gloves, some toiletries, perhaps a bit of chocolate – a small gift to ...

The 26th edition of the AAPA Latin American Congress of Ports strengthened its status as the premier port conference in Latin America by gathering more than 350 participants from over 30 countries and four continents from November 6-9 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, under the theme “Latin American Ports, between Globalization and Protectionism.” By Tom Hranac Forty-four speakers from 15 ...

Aport with all its eggs in one basket is unlikely to succeed in the long run. But just how does one attract a fresh line of business, such as cruise for a cargo port, LNG for a breakbulk port, or international trade for a domestic port? By Lori Musser As commodity or economic cycles wax and wane, so too will ...

Diversification in funding sources and income avenues is helping ports achieve more financial stability and security, as well as boosting the bottom line. By Sandy Smith When Hurricane Katrina – and a 24-foot storm surge – destroyed the Port of Gulfport in 2005, the port had a choice: rebuild the port back to its original layout, or take this as ...

Seaports are diverse by nature, and this applies to their workforces as well. Some ports are finding that this diversity is contributing to more than just their success – it is giving them an inner strength.  By Sarah B. Hood Seaports are diverse by nature; they connect continents, companies and individuals around the world. Increasingly, North American ports are harnessing ...

Ports are continually increasing and improving their intermodal and multimodal capacities and connections to prepare for the increases in freight traffic predicted. By Mary Lou Jay  The U.S. Department of Transportation predicts that the country’s freight traffic will increase by 45 percent by 2045. In anticipation of that growth, U.S. ports are continually increasing and improving their intermodal and multimodal ...

In August 2017, the third edition was issued to update the catalog of resources and to enhance the formatting and accessibility. It is now available online at www.CMTS.gov. By Helen Brohl, CMTS The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (www.CMTS.gov) is an interagency policy coordinating committee, established by presidential directive in 2004 and authorized in statute in 2012 to, ...