Batumi

Jan 15, 10:54 Oil shipments via Georgia ports down in 2011 Georgia's Batumi oil port on the B...

seagull Jan 15, 10:54
Oil shipments via Georgia ports down in 2011
Georgia's Batumi oil port on the Black Sea shipped 12.4 percent less crude and oil products in 2011 than the previous year, while the rival Kulevi terminal shipped 8.3 percent less, sources at the terminals said on Thursday, Reuters reports. The Batumi terminal, which is operated by Kazakh state energy firm KazMunaiGas, shipped 5.355 million tonnes last year, down from 6.116 million tonnes in 2010.

In December 2011 the terminal shipped 528,769 tonnes of oil and refined products, down from 559,993 tonnes a year ago, but up from 382,812 tonnes in the preceding month.

The terminal in Kulevi, which started operating in 2009 and is owned by Azeri state energy company SOCAR, shipped 3.3 million tonnes of crude oil and refined products in 2011, down from 3.6 million tonnes in 2010.

In December 2011 the terminal shipped 231,900 tonnes of oil and refined products, down from 415,449 tonnes in December 2010 and 264,100 tonnes in November 2011.

Azerbaijan has been gradually boosting oil shipments via Kulevi. But Kulevi shipment volumes started to decline from June last year as Chevron sent Tengiz oil from Kazakhstan to Batumi instead of Kulevi, while the port has also been carrying out repairs on its oil platforms.

Crude and refined oil products from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are shipped out of Georgia's Black Sea ports of Batumi, Supsa, Poti and Kulevi.

Some products are shipped across the Caspian Sea in small tankers, unloaded in the Azeri port of Baku and then sent by rail to Georgian ports for re-export to the Mediterranean.

Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan ships its oil via five main routes -- Russia's largest Black Sea port of Novorossiisk, neighbouring Georgia's Supsa, Batumi and Kulevi ports, and Turkey's Ceyhan.

Oil exports via Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline were also down by 12.9 percent in 2011 to 32.22 million tonnes due to repair works on some drilling platforms, SOCAR said on Wednesday.

en.portnews.ru

Dec 16, 13:32 Batumi dry cargo throughput up to 1.4m tons in 11 months Dry cargo turnover in ...

seagull Dec 16, 13:32
Batumi dry cargo throughput up to 1.4m tons in 11 months
Dry cargo turnover in the seaport of Batumi has amounted to 1,401,523 tons over 11 months of 2011, or by 64,523 tons more than the target, and by 305,251 tons more than the same period of 2010, Trend news agency reported.
According to the port's report, it was expected to upload 1.464 million tons of dry cargo in 2011 and it is the highest predicted rate for all time of port's existence.
Sugar and ammonium nitrate take a leading position in the dry cargo transfers of the port with a share of 32.7 percent and 25.8 percent respectively. Growth was observed at the positions of bulk cargo and packaged goods, which was fulfilled by 363 percent and by 120 percent respectively.
In this period, the port processed 787 ships, which is by 70 units higher than the number of ship calls at the same period in 2010. Thus, 44 percent of total dry cargo turnover accounts for transit.

en.portnews.ru

Apr 7 '11, 18:01 Georgian port of Batumi suspends operations due to radiation detection The Geor...

seagull Apr 7 '11, 18:01
Georgian port of Batumi suspends operations due to radiation detection
The Georgian port of Batumi has temporarily ceased operation after radioactivity was detected in scrap metal, the Port Authority told Trend on Tuesday, Trend reports.The Port Authority did not say where the scrap metal was to be exported. Several radiation safety teams are on the scene.
The Georgian security agencies have blocked all approaches to the port. All employees have been evacuated.
The emergency services’ employees and local radiological services’ experts are at the port.
However, work to identify the source of the radiation has not started. The port is waiting for a special group of experts to arrive from Tbilisi.
The radiation was discovered in scrap metal in a railway carriage. The scrap metal was to be shipped on a vessel abroad. However, the port did not name the destination.
The radiation was revealed using the special sensors that have been installed on Georgian borders. These sensors were installed with the assistance and funding of the United States.

businesstimes.com.sg

Aug 9 '10, 9:49 Georgia Ports Authority Handles 2.6 Million TEUs in FY2010 Georgia Ports Auth...

seagull Aug 9 '10, 9:49
Georgia Ports Authority Handles 2.6 Million TEUs in FY2010

Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA) Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz announced the GPA handled more than 2.63 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit containers), added new services and maintained its position as the fourth highest volume container port in fiscal year 2010.

For the month of June 2010, the GPA posted a 34-percent increase with 240,734 TEUs compared with 179,451 TEUs handled in June 2009.

"The second half of the year was particularly strong with signs of economic recovery, retail sector inventory replenishment and continued strong demand for U.S. produced products boosting export volumes," said Foltz. "The 9.7-percent increase in TEUs for the year allowed the GPA to fully recover from decreases experienced in FY2009 and return to the record levels reached in FY2008."

The month of June 2010 was the third highest volume overall for the GPA in terms of both TEUs and containers moved. In June 2010, the GPA moved 135,297 containers compared with 100,660 containers in June 2009. Also, during FY2010, the GPA experienced a 9.7-percent increase in total TEUs and a 7.3-percent increase in total tonnage for all terminal facilities handling a total of 24,288,789 tons.

In Brunswick, the GPA surpassed 2.3 million tons, a 15.4-percent increase compared with the previous year. Autos and machinery units at Colonel's Island Terminal totaled 332,100 units, posting a 16.2-percent increase compared with the previous year. These volume gains can be attributed to a number of factors including a renewed consumer market for automobiles and the addition of a Mercedes-Benz USA vehicle-processing center on Colonel's Island Terminal, which opened in January 2010.

Additionally, the Port of Brunswick recorded its best performance to date in the movement of agri-bulk cargoes in FY2010, handling more than one million tons at Colonel's Island Terminal, a 38.7-percent increase compared with FY2009.

"I would like to thank the men and women of the GPA and the entire maritime community for making this remarkable year of growth a reality," said GPA Chairman of the Board Alec L. Poitevint. "The commencement of the Savannah Harbor Deepening Project will help ensure our future success.

Aug 6 '10, 10:53 Georgia to free Abkhazia crew. GEORGIA will release the crew of the Ukrainian...

seagull Aug 6 '10, 10:53
Georgia to free Abkhazia crew.

GEORGIA will release the crew of the Ukrainian-flagged general cargo ship Akkord, which was arrested last week for calling at the breakaway republic of Abkhazia.
Deputy foreign minister Ruslan Demchenko said the 11 Ukrainian crew members had been given their passports and were free to leave the country. The Russian master will also be permitted to continue on the ship’s voyage.
Its owner is believed to have paid an undisclosed fine yesterday to secure the vessel’s release. The 2,074dwt ship was apprehended by Georgian border guards near the Black Sea port of Poti shortly after leaving Abkhazian waters in late July.
It was carrying a cargo of grain destined for Armenia and had been en route from the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don.
Georgia has apprehended several ships that have delivered cargo to the Abkhazian port of Sokhumi in the past year or so. The separatist republic’s claims for independence have been rejected by Tbilisi and contributed to the conflict with Russia in August 2008. GEORGIA will release the crew of the Ukrainian-flagged general cargo ship Akkord, which was arrested last week for calling at the breakaway republic of Abkhazia.