International News : Central America

Seaboard Marine said it has started a service to and from Belize via Miami, Houston and New Orleans, as well as Cristobal, Panama, and Puerto Limon, Costa Rica. The service will offer northbound departures direct from Belize to Miami every Tuesday. “Belize customers will be able to utilize the Seaboard network throughout the Caribbean Basin," said Jose Concepcion, Seaboard Marine vice pre...

Project and roll-on/roll-off specialist carrier Nordana said Thursday it will offer service with multipurpose ro/ro vessels from its regular ports in the Mediterranean to Manzanillo in Mexico on its Mediterranean-Americas service. The carrier will accept rolling stock, cars, containers, breakbulk, heavy lift and project cargoes. Nordana also said it will offer export service from Pana...

Mediterranean Shipping Co. said Wednesday it is merging two services to ports in Central America with North America and the Mediterranean, creating a direct Med/U.S. West Coast link. The Swiss liner carrier will merge its Puma service, which links Central America with the U.S. West Coast, and its Panama/Med service, which links Central America to several Mediterranean ports. MSC said ...

Liner carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. last week advised its customers of severe congestion in the Port of Algiers in Algeria due to a strike at the DP World-operated container terminal there. The line said the nearly two-month-old strike has resulted in ships taking as long as one month to be unloaded. MSC said it has started assessing a $180 congestion surcharge from Sept. 1 on shipme...

Venezuela said it has signed an agreement to have China's Harbor Engineering Co. (CHEC) develop a new container terminal in Puerto Cabello. The government said the terminal would be able to accommodate post-Panamax vessels up to 70,000 deadweight tons, up from the 30,000 dwt ships the port can handle today. (A 70,000 dwt ship equates to a capacity of about 5,300 to 5,600 TEUs accordin...

Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Richard A. Lidinsky has forwarded a wide-ranging set of recommendations for revising the Shipping Act of 1984 to the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Lidinsky Included in the recommendations to committee Chairman Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, R-Md., are six proposals: • Bring container and chassis lessors within the ambit of...

Del Monte Fresh Produce Co. plans to shift its fruit import business from Camden to Gloucester City, N.J. Robert W. Palaima, president of Delaware River Stevedores, Del Monte's stevedore, said his company was told the importer of bananas, melons and pineapple would move its business several miles south to a facility operated by Holt Logistics at the Gloucester Marine Terminal. Palaima...