FLEET MARITIME

Vol 18, No. 2 – SUMMER 2022

SHIPPING & FREIGHT NEWSLETTER – Compiled by Howard Knott – howard@fleet.ie

Pride of Bruges

The sacking on 17 March of 800 sea-going personnel by DP World owned ferry service operator, P & O Ferries led to the immediate tying up of most of the company’s fleet and significant disruption of freight and passenger traffic. At the time of that announcement the company declared that recruitment of replacement Agency crews was well underway and that it expected to be able to resume full operation within a matter of days.

While services operated by vessels chartered in by P & O and crewed by the vessels’ owner’s personnel did resume within days, as did services using P & O vessels crewed under previously negotiated Dutch contracts, the vast majority of the company’s fleet remains tied up over a month later.

Currently the Larne/Cairnryan service is operating with a single vessel while Stena Line has added a third vessel to its Belfast/Cairnryan service to ease the

P & O Ferries sackings lead to significant ferry traffic disruption

pressure on the Irish Sea Northern Corridor. This has meant that Stena has not been able to provide annual maintenance dry-dock cover for the Stena Horizon on its Rosslare/Cherbourg service. Irish Ferries has been taking some of the pressure arising for freight traffic routing through Cherbourg by sailing Epsilon from Dublin on Friday evening over the Easter period. This has reduced available capacity on the Dublin/Holyhead route, though this has been partially offset by the re-introduction of the Dublin Swift fast ferry on the route.

P & O Ferries Dublin/Liverpool route is now reduced from four vessels to a two-vessel operation while the Dover/ Calais service has been reduced to a severely limited freight service without car and passenger facilities. Irish Ferries has brought forward the introduction of its third vessel, the Isle of Inisturk, onto that corridor, bringing its offering up to over fifteen sailing a day in each direction. Just how critical the P & O Dover services are to the facilitation of British/French traffic is indicated by the traffic queues of up to twenty miles seeking to cross the Dover Straits.

The routes served by P & O North Sea services have been less affected by the crew dismissals and tying up of vessels with other carriers being able to take up much of traffic and some P & O services using chartered vessels.

It is now expected that there will be a gradual return of services operating under new crewing arrangements. The main factor here is the speed at which the regulatory authorities involved with the routes give clearance to the vessels to return to them.

Dover truck queues return to pre-Brexit lengths following withdrawal of P & O services

Brittany Ferries confirms commitment to the development of Irish services

At a reception aboard the Cruise Ferry Armorique following her arrival at Ringaskiddy on 6 April, Brittany Ferries’ President, Jean-Marc Roue, signed a three-year deal with the Port of Cork committing the Line to the operation of twice-weekly seasonal sailings from Roscoff to Cork. While the principal focus of this route remains on passenger and car traffic, the addition of a second sailing using a vessel with significant trailer capacity does open significant opportunities for Atlantic Arc freight traffic development.

On the following day, Jean-Mark Roue, visited Rosslare where he made the announcement to replace current vessel Connemara on the Rosslare/Bilbao and Rosslare/Cherbourg routes by the Company’s first E-Flexer cruise ferry, Galicia, in November 2022. Speaking about the new vessel, which has capacity for 1015 passengers and 40% more freight capacity then the vessel being replaced, Jean-Marc Roue said: “There is no doubt that the Rosslare – Bilbao route has been successful, and we are pleased with the way Irish hauliers have embraced it. Galicia will continue to provide a strong freight offering. However, our research has indicated that there is a demand there from Irish people wishing to holiday in Spain and Galicia will certainly make for a far more enjoyable experience for them. The job now is to work in partnership with tourism bodies in Ireland and Spain to ensure that holidaymakers fill our ships and enrich destinations in both markets.”

China-Europe rail routes become supply chain’s latest problem

New rail-sea connection from Turkey to Germany in the pipeline

In an analysis of issues arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the American Journal of Transportation reports; “Last year, trains moved about 1.46 million containers carrying goods valued at about $75 billion between China and Europe on the routes, or about 4% of total trade between the two sides, according to estimates by Bain & Co.

The rail networks stretching from China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and beyond connect Chinese commercial centres such as Yiwu, in Zhejiang province, Xi’an in Shaanxi, Zhengzhou in Henan, Chengdu in Sichuan and Wuhan in Hubei to European cities including Moscow, Minsk, Hamburg, Milan, Warsaw, Munich and Madrid. Apart from consumer electronics and autos, wood-based products and petrochemicals also hitch a ride.

It takes about two weeks to send Asian goods to Europe via rail compared with a month by ship, according to logistics firms. Ships are still the cheapest method. The cost of transporting a container by rail is roughly twice that of sea freight and a quarter of sending goods by air, according to logistics provider DSV.

More than a million containers set to ride 6,000-plus miles of railway linking Western Europe to Eastern China via Russia are now having to find new routes by sea, adding to costs and threatening to worsen the global supply chain chaos.

With Moscow’s war raging in Ukraine, exporters and logistics firms transporting auto parts, cars, laptops, and smartphones are now looking to avoid land routes passing through Russia or the combat zone. Security risks and payment hurdles stemming from sanctions are mounting, as is wariness that customers in Europe could boycott products that used Russian rail.

Kuehne + Nagel International AG, one of Europe’s largest freight forwarders, is already rejecting rail cargo from China to Europe, according to Marcus Balzereit, a senior vice president for Asia Pacific at the Switzerland-based company. Some companies are switching to sea, said Glenn Koepke, a general manager at FourKites Inc., a Chicago-based information provider for the logistics industry.”

The conflict is adding to congestion at some of the biggest ports, putting further pressure on global supply chains that are still reeling from pandemic-induced manpower shortages.

DFDS/PrimeRail is about to launch a rail freight service from Sète in France to Cologne in Germany. DFDS already operates a regular ferry line from the Port of Yalova, nearby Istanbul, to the French portal city. The addition of the rail freight service offers a new, alternative connection from Turkey to Cologne.

The multimodal connection is planned for two roundtrips per week, with a third one on the horizon. The company is also preparing to launch a connection from Sète to Calais, with a bid to connect Turkey to the UK. This was reported by the Turkish news site Denizhaber.

Sète is well on the way to increase its presence on the intermodal map. A new multimodal terminal is under construction, scheduled to enter service at the beginning of 2023. This terminal will also be able to accept non-craneable trailers, a huge advantage as it will enhance the possibility of shifting cargo from the road onto rails.

In August 2021, the port authority said it wants to significantly increase the percentage of freight leaving the port on trains. This matches the ambitions of DFDS/PrimeRail, which wants to expand its multimodal activities and rely more on rail. In doing so, it has its eyes on Sète as a transhipment hub, to which it now operates three ferry services per week.

The new, alternative route to the middle of Europe is also interesting considering the recently increased interest in the Middle Corridor; the route connecting China and Europe via Turkey. Companies that do not wish to transit cargo through Russia are looking for transport solutions via the Middle Corridor, and from Turkey onwards to Europe.

PORT PORTALS

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, which recently took over the operations previously undertaken by the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, has completed the installation of a docking pontoon and other works to facilitate the operation of shuttle services for passengers visiting aboard Cruise Liners. The facility came into full operation over the Easter weekend.

The tenders come alongside at the former HSS Ferry Terminal and passenger reception facilities, along with coach parking, are located within the terminal area. It is expected that up to eighty Cruise Liners will use the Dun Laoghaire facilities during 2022. Most of the vessels will anchor outside the Harbour, transferring passengers ashore using their own Tenders, though smaller vessels will tie up alongside the terminal.

The carrying out of development works and expansion of cargo handling facilities at Dublin Port has meant that the port cannot accept Cruise Liners during 2022 at least.

Channel Islands ferry specialist, Condor Ferries, has announced the launch of a commuter ferry service linking Bangor County Down, and Belfast city centre in 2024. The half hour journey will be operated using a zero-carbon hydrofoil vessel, currently being developed, and built by the Belfast Maritime Consortium.

Harland & Wolff Shipyard has secured a dry-docking and refurbishment contract for Cunard Line’s Cruise Liner Queen Victoria and P & O Cruises Aurora. At over 270 metres in length each of these vessels will be the largest visitors to the port for over 20 years and are slightly longer than the Titanic.

While in recent years the Harland & Wolff facility has been active in servicing the offshore energy industries, it is playing an increasing role in meeting the vessel maintenance requirements of the ferry industry, with many Stena Line and Irish Ferries vessels undergoing their annual dry-docks there.

Brittany Ferries

Polish owned Ferry Operator PolFerries is reported to have bought a soon-to-be-completed ferry from Norwegian builders Fosen Yard. The 2,600 lane metre, 1,680 passenger vessel was originally ordered by Brittany Ferries from the German FSG Yard. She was named back then as Honfleur and designed to operate under LNG power.

Irish Ferries Epsilon enters Dublin Port

Stena Europe enters Harland & Wolff building dock

Building of the vessel was delayed at the FSG Yard which had run into significant problems while building W B Yeats for Irish Ferries. The yard then lost a further Irish Ferries order for a vessel that might have replaced Ulysses leading to a cessation of building on the Brittany Ferries vessel and the closedown of the Yard. The uncompleted Honfleur was then transferred to the Fosen yard.

The Ro-Ro Ferry Epsilon, currently chartered by Irish Ferries, has been reported as sold by owners, Caronte & Tourist to the Polish company Eurafrica for approximately $50 million. The 2011 built vessel had been bought by Caronte & Tourist in 2019 for $34 million. This escalation in price reflects the extreme shortage of available ferries on both the sales and charter markets. A 1974 built freight ferry was recently offered for sale at $1.5 million but then changed hands at $5 million. The current Epsilon charter agreement with Irish Ferries ends in November 2022 but this may be extended.

CLdN has announced an agreement with wind power specialist Norsepower to install two tilting Rotor Sails on board the 2018-built con-Ro vessel Delphine. The 8,000 lane-metre capacity vessel and her sister ship Celine are the largest such ferries operating in European waters and is a regular caller to Dublin on the Zeebrugge service.

The pair of 35m x 5m Rotor Sails will be installed in the autumn of 2022 and Norsepower has estimated that this technology should achieve a fuel and emission reduction of between 7 and 10% for the vessel. Speaking about the installation, Gary Walker, Chief operating Officer at CLdN said: “In 2021, CLdN announced it is the top performer amongst its Ro-Ro shipping peers in Northwest Europe for CO2 emissions per tonne of freight carried. By investing in technologically advanced ships and terminals, CLdN enables its customers to improve their carbon footprint and support them at the same time in making their supply chains more efficient and robust. This demand for cleaner shipping is growing and we are committed to making measurable progress. Installing two of Norsepower’s Rotor Sails will maximise our fuel and emissions savings on the MV Delphine, and this pilot project will help determine

Delphine fitted with Norsepower Rotor Sails

our new-build vessels. We look forward to the installation and subsequent results.”

The Delphine will be the seventh vessel fitted with this technology including some ferries operating in Scandinavian waters.

The bumper profits being secured by the deep-sea container shipping companies have enabled them not only to increase investment in their core shipping business activities but also to move into non-traditional areas including airfreight. Maersk Line has announced the establishment of Maersk Air Cargo as the company’s main air freight offering serving the logistics needs of its clients with integrated logistics. The new carrier is being based at Billund Airport in Denmark and its fleet will comprise of Boeing B-767 and B-777 aircraft.

This move follows that of competitor, CMA-CgM to build a similar operation, while the Aponte family owned MSC company has announced a substantial investment in the Italian national airline, Italia Transporto Aereo which emerged from Alitalia. MSC which already owns Mediterranean operator GNV Ferries will also rescue ferry operator Moby Line which suffered serious losses during the Covid lockdowns.

Hapag-Lloyd and German carrier Deutsche Afrika-Linien (DAL) have signed a framework agreement under which Hapag-Lloyd will acquire the container liner business of DAL.

With a history dating back to the year 1890, DAL is an established liner shipping company for the transportation of containerised cargo and operates with four liner services between Europe, South Africa and the Indian Ocean

Headquartered in Hamburg, the Africa expert is represented with own offices in Germany and South Africa as well as through third-party agents in 47 countries worldwide. Its liner business (including agencies) employs more than 150 people. DAL owns a 6,589 TEU container ship and operates a container fleet of around 17,800 boxes (owned and leased), which will be taken over as part of the acquisition.

In 2021 Hapag-Lloyd acquired Africa-specialised carrier, NileDutch, which considerably strengthened the carrier’s presence and offering to and from West Africa.

DHL has completed the purchase of J.F Hillebrand, an international ocean logistics provider specialising in wine, beer, and spirits as well as other beverages and bulk liquids. The acquisition will now be part of DHL Global Forwarding and will combine with DHL’s beverage logistics unit, Gori under the brand name Hillebrand Gori. Hillebrand has also developed a significant business in the production and use of a range of flexitanks designed to be product specific.

CMA-CgM has acquired gEFCO, a European leader in automotive logistics. The purchase ensures the continuity and long-term stability of GEFCO’s business. The EU Commission granted CMA-CGM immediate approval of the transaction so that it could be completed before the 1 April deadline by which the former Russian majority shareholders would have to exit the company, thus enabling it to avoid being subject to the EU Commission’s sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The French based GEFCO has a network of operations in 47 countries and employs 11,500 staff. Within the CMA-CGM Group the company will further develop its contract logistics business.

Port of Cork has announced the signing of an agreement with Energia for the supply of 100% renewable

energy. The green electricity will power several facilities at Cork City Quays, Tivoli Container Terminal, Ringaskiddy Deepwater Berth and Ro-Ro berth, Cobh Deepwater Quay and Cork Container Terminal soon. The Port of Cork is the second largest Port in Ireland and is a Tier 1 Port of national significance, operating six shipping modes (Lift on Lift off, Roll on Roll off, Dry bulks, Liquid bulk, Break bulk and Cruise). The Port’s capacity to carry export goods estimated to value in the region €20 billion and imports to the value of €10 billion, underpin the importance of the Port’s contribution to the national economy.

Henry Kingston, Port Engineering Manager, Port of Cork commented; “The Port of Cork is committed to leading the wider port community through coordinated safety, environmental and energy initiatives, as well as reducing CO2 emissions and respecting the principles of environmental sustainability. Our partnership with Energia will see the Port using 100% green energy which will positively influence the Port’s carbon footprint going forward.’

MSC Magnifica - scheduled to make two visits to Dun Laoghaire in 2022 Port of Cork