PMA and ILWU announce tentative agreement
The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract covering workers at all 29 West Coast ports on June 14th.
The parties gave credit “to the assistance from (Acting) U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su” who was dispatched by President Biden to the San Francisco negotiations on Monday so as to affect a settlement.
The parties said they “will not be releasing details of the agreement at this time. The agreement is subject to ratification by both parties”
The announcement added: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement that recognizes the heroic efforts and personal sacrifices of the ILWU workforce in keeping our ports operating,” said PMA President James McKenna and ILWU President Willie Adams in a joint statement. “We are also pleased to turn our full attention back to the operation of the West Coast Ports.”
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Biden-Harris Administration announces $192 million to advance battery recycling technology
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced more than $192 million in new funding for recycling batteries from consumer products, launching an advanced battery research and development (R&D) consortium, and the continuation of the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize, which began in 2019. With the demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and stationary energy storage projected to increase the lithium battery market by as much as ten-fold by 2030, it is essential to invest in sustainable, reduced-cost recycling of consumer batteries in support of a secure, resilient, and circular domestic supply chain for critical materials. Today’s announcement supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal to have EVs make up half of all vehicle sales in America by 2030 and builds on the nearly $3 billion announced to date from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for EV and battery technologies.
AJOT
I-95 collapse to lift Prices of East Coast goods, Buttigieg warns
(Bloomberg) -- US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said there’s “no question” the collapse of a section of Interstate 95 in northeastern Philadelphia will result in higher prices of goods on the East Coast.
The failure is having an outsized impact on commuters and the movement of goods and services, Buttigieg said Tuesday at a press conference at the site.
The 1,924-mile (3,096-kilometer) interstate runs from Miami to the Maine-Canada border. It’s part of a critical long-distance trucking and commuting route. The portion of the highway, which collapsed after a tanker-truck fire on Sunday, carried an average of 160,000 vehicles a day, he said, 8% of which were trucks.
Bloomberg
PSA Chennai reaches 10 million TEU milestone
PSA Chennai in India has recently marked a historic milestone by carrying its 10 millionth container during May 2023.
The Indian terminal's strategy for the future is to increase its client base, extend its services, and secure its position as the region's major box terminal.
PSA Chennai intends to accomplish this by focusing on the expansion of rail connectivity to connect all major Inland Container Depots (ICDs) from the facility, thereby delivering full end-to-end logistics solutions with the assistance of the PSA BDP team.
Container News
Swedish scrubber discharge study makes case for stricter regulations
Some 42 months after the global sulphur cap became law, researchers continue to uncover the enormous damage scrubbers are doing to the world’s oceans.
A new study from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden focusing on four ports calculated that water discharged from scrubbers accounted for more than 90% of the contaminants found in water samples.
“The results speak for themselves. Stricter regulation of discharge water from scrubbers is crucial to reduce the deterioration of the marine environment,” said Anna Lunde Hermansson, a doctoral student at the Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences at Chalmers.
Splash 24/7
EU Customs Reform
The reform responds to the current pressures under which EU Customs operates, including a huge increase in trade volumes, especially in e-commerce, a fast-growing number of EU standards that must be checked at the border, and shifting geopolitical realities and crises.
The measures proposed present a world-leading, data-driven vision for EU Customs, which will massively simplify customs processes for business, especially for the most trustworthy traders. Embracing the digital transformation, the reform will cut down on cumbersome customs procedures, replacing traditional declarations with a smarter, data-led approach to import supervision. At the same time, customs authorities will have the tools and resources they need to properly assess and stop imports which pose real risks to the EU, its citizens and its economy.
European Union
Marine environment at risk due to ship emissions
The combined emissions of metals and other environmentally hazardous substances from ships is putting the marine environment at risk according to a new study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. When the researchers calculated the contaminant load from these emissions into the marine environment in four ports, it was found that water discharged from ships’ scrubbers, whose purpose is to clean their exhaust gases, accounts for more than 90 per cent of the contaminants.
“The results speak for themselves. Stricter regulation of discharge water from scrubbers is crucial to reduce the deterioration of the marine environment,” says Anna Lunde Hermansson, a doctoral student at the Department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences at Chalmers.
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