NOL invests in Port of Qingdao

NOL invests in Port of Qingdao    NOL Group, parent company of container carrier APL, said it is investing in a joint venture to operate a two-berth container terminal at the Port of Qingdao.
   The terminal, expected to open in the second half of 2011, will be NOL's first in mainland China.
   NOL will contribute $25.8 million to the joint venture with China’s SITC International Holdings Co. Ltd. and Qingdao Qianwan United Container Terminal Co.
   NOL said the fast-growing North China market is a strategic focal point. APL Qingdao, on the Yellow Sea Coast, is China's fifth-largest container port.
   NOL said its investment “will ensure future access to terminal capacity as China's relentless trade growth accelerates. The joint venture partnership has a 30-year concession at Qingdao.”
   The new terminal will add 1.5 million TEUs of annual capacity at Qingdao. NOL said it will be equipped with efficient handling equipment including seven post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes as well as 16 rail-mounted yard gantry cranes.
   The completed terminal will primarily serve vessels operated by APL and SITC. APL said the dedicated container terminal will help improve schedule reliability and guarantee high service levels to its customers.
   APL operates marine terminals at Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Kobe and Yokohama, Japan; and Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, and Dutch Harbor, Alaska in the United States. NOL also has investments in terminals in Vietnam and Thailand, and in Rotterdam World Gateway, the first container terminal of the Maasvlakte 2 port development, under construction.