fmaritimesept11_fullweb by Orla Sweeney

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fleetMaritime: IRISH SHIPPING & FREIGHT Compiled by Howard Knott Edited by Jarlath Sweeney email: maritime@fleet.ie

Volume 6, No. 3 Autumn 2011

Diplomat’s career ends with recall to Asia for scrap

reight and passenger ferry ‘Diplomat’, which was purchased in 2005 by Celtic Link Ferries, sailed to India in April 2011 to be scrapped. For the 33 year old vessel that travelled all over the world’s oceans since she left the builder’s yard in South Korea in 1978, this was her first return to Asian waters. Celtic Link when formed bought the ‘Diplomat’ from P & O Irish Sea in 2005. P&O had planned to withdraw from all of its Irish Sea routes other than those running (ex-Larne to Scotland), but in the end disposed only of the Dublin to Mostyn and the Dublin and Rosslare to Cherbourg routes. They continue to operate the Dublin/Liverpool route. The promoters of Celtic Link Ferries were long-term supporters of the Cherbourg service (exRosslare) and with the purchase of the ‘Diplomat’ that service was maintained. The ‘Diplomat’ was one of a series of 11 sister ships designed and commissioned by Stena Rederi and named the ‘Searunner’ Class. They were built at the Hyundai yard at Ulsan, South Korea between 1977 and 1979. Stena did not intend to use the vessels in their own services, rather to charter them to other operators. They were designed to be able to carry trailers and containers, and be suitable for use both on short sea and deep sea routes. A pair of the vessels went direct from the builder’s yard on charter to the Atlantic Container Line and maintained that Line’s service from a range of European Ports to Canada while ACL built

had been designed with almost 100 metres of clear top deck space so freight containers could be lifted on and off by crane. The strength of this large open weather deck made ‘Baltic Ferry’ and her sisters ideally flexible and low cost bases for helicopters and Harrier Jump Jets with vertical take-off and landing capability. Diplomat

their new, current con-Ro fleet. It is unlikely that current transatlantic services would be maintained by such small vessels. The ‘Diplomat’ was initially chartered to P&O European Ferries and named ‘Baltic Ferry’ operating in the North Sea. In 1982 she was requisitioned by the British Ministry of Defence along with sister ships, ‘Nordic Ferry’ and ‘Elk’ for use in the Falklands Task Force in the war with Argentina. The Ministry chose these vessels because of their design making them well suited for the carriage of military vehicles, equipment and containers to the South Atlantic. The vessels

Global Freighter

By 1983 ‘Baltic Ferry’ was back on the North Sea and was purchased from Stena in 1994 by P & O Ferries. In 2001 it opened the Rosslare-toCherbourg route giving her the name ‘European Diplomat’ and she remained on that route until Celtic Link Ferries replaced her in 2009 with the almost brand new, former LD Lines ‘Norman Voyager’. Following a refit, Celtic Link then chartered her to Caribbean operator Marine Express for service between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. This Spring she went to the Breaker’s Yard. The ‘Diplomat’ was not the only ‘Searunner’ vessel to be purchased by Celtic Link Ferries. In 2007 they acquired the vessel ‘Finnforest’, then chartered to Finncarriers, and when that charter ended in 2010 she was refitted in Dublin before charter assignment in the Mediterranean running between Genoa and Palermo. A further ‘Searunner’ vessel, the ‘Global Freighter’, was operated by P&O/Pandoro on the Dublin-toLiverpool route at various times between 1994 and 2007; that vessel is now operating in Greek waters.

Stena to push on with investment in N.I. routes

tena Line’s purchase of the routes and the four vessels serving from Belfast to Birkenhead and Heysham has now been cleared by the UK Competition Authority. On receipt of the preliminary clearance from the Authority in April, Stena Line sold the three vessels that had operated the now closed Larne-toFleetwood route to Russian interests for further service in the Black Sea. Frank Nieuwenhuys, Freight Commercial Manager, UK and RoI informed ‘Fleet Maritime’ that Stena

Line is now actively engaged in integrating the systems at the previously DFDS owned Line with the Stena systems. Stena has committed to making the Heysham and Birkenhead routes the focus of ongoing investment and development. Frank expects that these routes will see Stena investing substantially sooner rather than later. Meantime, the new Terminal being built by Stena in Lough Ryan, replacing that at Stranraer was due for completion by the end of August with services due to commence on 1 November 2011.

The re-fit of the two ‘Superfast’ vessels chartered for two years to operate this service will involve the replacement of blocks of cabins by enhanced leisure facilities, and storage of the cabin units for possible return to the vessels at the end of the charter.

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Volvo Ocean Race to Galway nears the start line. Leonard (pictured) who has been selected as media crew member on the mainly Chinesesponsored Team Sanya, named after the Chinese Port of call on the race route. The vessel is the former Telfonica Blue, which had secured a podium finish in the last Volvo Ocean Race. Discover Ireland has come on board as one of the primary sponsors of this race vessel.

reparations are now intense for the 20112012 Volvo Ocean Race with a start at Alicante, Spain on 29 October. The race, sailed in special Volvo 70ft craft, will last for nine months with calls at eight ports before reaching Galway in June 2012. The Irish interest in the race will be represented by Galwayman Frankie

Volvo Cars have launched a range of Special edition cars to tie in with the Ocean Race theme. Lennart Stegland, President of the Special vehicles division at Volvo Cars said: "There are many features that, in a very subtle way, make you think about boats and sailing. The aluminium decor is designed in such a way that the pattern looks like a yacht harbour full of masts."

The ‘Let’s do it Galway’ team, which put together the most successful stopover of the previous edition has been entrusted with hosting the Grand Finale of the race. Plans are well underway for a massive event in Galway. Expect a much bigger spectacle this time around from Volvo Truck & Bus. Additional text … Jarlath Sweeney.

Are there enough feeder ships to service offshore markets?

t the recent Shortsea Shipping Congress held in Hamburg, Germany, concern was expressed by attendees that UK and other European Shortsea Container feeder operations could soon be hit by a ‘capacity crunch’ as fleet development fails to keep pace with changes in the deep-sea shipping scene.

As explained by Team Line’s Christian Mordhorst, the disconnect comes as the deepsea lines put more mega vessels each with 13,000 units or more container capacity into service. Fewer Ports in Europe and elsewhere will be able to accommodate these vessels, thus the numbers of containers that need to be moved off vessel or quay very quickly will grow sharply.

He went on to explain that there is a growing shortage of feeder vessels that could take the loads that the larger vessels will seek to shift to them. In addition, the Ports in Ireland, UK and elsewhere will be unable to take in deeper feeder vessels.

Rosslare Europort publishes plans for development

he Iarnród Éireann-owned Rosslare Europort has made a number of submissions stating its present and potential future roles in the local and national infrastructure.

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dwell times of containers and accommodate the Rail Freight terminal and associated freight storage requirements. The deepening of all or part of the Europort from the current 7.2 metres at chart datum to 9 metres and eventually to 11 metres. The achievement of these developments would facilitate and be accelerated by the development of a Port-centric logistics zone on land adjacent to the Europort.

In its most recent presentation to the Wexford County Council, the Port has requested that its submission be adopted into the County Development Plan as a Core strategy.

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Within its medium and long-term plans the Port sees: • Expansion of the Europort’s current exclusively Ro-Ro business into Lo-Lo traffic, initially through the use of MAFI trailers to carry containers on Ro-Ro ships, and eventually using container ships and/or Con/Ro vessels. • The eventual development of a Rail Freight Terminal, but only after the expansion into containers, and when there is a clearly demonstratable market demand for a Rail Freight service. • The reclamation of up to 20 hectares of additional land that would facilitate the longer

In response to the submission, Wexford County Manager Eddie Breen told the local 'Wexford People’ newspaper that he "recognises the fundamental and strategic importance of Rosslare Europort to the economic development of the county."

A local business source emphasised the crucial importance of maintaining the Rosslare-toWaterford rail line in condition that would facilitate its re-opening to freight services without significant cost. Also critical is the preservation of the Waterford-to-Limerick line to facilitate distribution of containers further afield. A significant development for the Port will be the substitution by Celtic Link Ferries of their current ‘Norman Voyager’ vessel on the threetimes-per-week Cherbourg service with the larger ‘Celtic Horizon’ in mid-October. The new vessel will offer considerably more passenger capacity while at the same time maintaining the guaranteed freight capacity. Rory McCall of Celtic Link, speaking with ‘Fleet Maritime’ about the new vessel and the opportunities for further traffic development with her said that the line is seeing constantly growing movement in the Campervan sector. It is now offering heavily discounted rates in the off-season period running from September through June to further stimulate this traffic.

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Successful RMR Ro-Ro Service purchases container equipment

s reported in July/August ‘Fleet Maritime’ the RMR Ro-Ro service direct to West VolumeAfrica 5, No. Winter has4moved to a2010 fortnightly basis. The Line’s Irish sales agent is KMR Shipping Services, not the Burke Group as reported in error in that piece. The Burke Group takes care of vessel handling and Ship’s Agency at its Portroe facility in Dublin Port.

and Antwerp. Transit time from Dublin to Lagos is 18 days. The Line also intends to enhance its offering through the purchase of its own containers. RMR Line not only ships the cargo, but on arrival at Lagos, it provides Customs Clearance and military escorts during delivery to the final customer. KMR Shipping is the official Irish partner of Cory Brothers, and its extensive portfolio of services also includes the Dutch CCNI Line, a container service operator linking European Ports with South America, Central America and the U.S. West Coast.

Kieron Kane of KMR Shipping advises that RMR has just recently purchased a fleet of MAFI’s to facilitate the carriage of ISO containers on the route to Lagos, Nigeria and Takoradi , Ghana, and for shipments from Dublin to Harwich, Eemshaven

Minister Varadkar launches new rail spur

ransport Minister Leo Varadkar, T.D. formally launched the rail spur linking the existing rail tramway in Dublin Port to the Common User container and general cargo terminal on 13 July. This 1.6 kilometre expansion of the Port rail network was funded and built by Dublin Port Company and represents an investment of €1.5 million. Commenting on the launch, Minister Varadkar said, “I welcome this important investment by Dublin Port Company in its rail network. It will further enhance the attractiveness of the Port as a destination for rail-based freight. The project represents a commitment on the part of Dublin Port Company and Iarnród Éireann to customers who want to move goods by rail.” Iarnród Éireann CEO, Dick Fearn added: “The expansion of the Dublin Port Rail Spur is an example of State Agencies working together to improve the competitiveness of rail freight, and to the benefit of commercial customers. We in Iarnród Éireann will build on a resurgence of rail freight to seek to attract more freight customers to our services, highlighting the benefits this new spur will bring to the costs and

In speaking about the potential traffic development for this and other services through the common User/Portroe Terminal, Pat Brennan, Director of the Burke Group mentioned that at present the terminal services lines include CLdN/Cobelfret, deep-sea feeder vessel services operated by APL and Xpress Container Line, Gracechurch Line and the monthly RMS Line dedicated hazardous cargo service.

competitiveness of transporting by rail, in addition to the environmental advantages.” The principal initial service using the new facility is the five-times-weekly intermodal service to Ballina, County Mayo. The trains are chartered from Irish Rail by forwarder, International Warehousing and Transport (IWT). In addition to servicing their own direct customer base, IWT markets space on the service to other Forwarders and Shipping Lines.

Mr. Brennan went on to say, “We feel that the potential is huge. As well as containers, new business can be developed such as biomass moving by rail. Cement-based products could also be moved this way. In the last few weeks, the next tranche of new rolling stock for Irish Rail has used the facility. The investment will result in savings to customers on transport and handling.” Dublin Port is keen to undertake a fresh redevelopment of the rail link into the IFG-managed Dublin Ferry Terminals facility. There is concern that the lack of a viable rail link there would result in a shift of cargo from lines using that terminal to those using the Portroe facility.

South of Ireland faces empty container crisis

ollowing delivery of a paper on resource utilisation at their Tivoli Container Terminal by Port Operations Manager, Gerard Deegan at an EU PROPS Short Sea Shipping workshop hosted on 19 July, a lively discussion ensued on the shortage of available shipping containers from the region with export cargo. The event was attended by representatives of Shipping Lines, Forwarders and a large number of Exporters and all expressed concern

about imports to, the Munster region, which has dropped off sharply while export shipments have continued to grow. The closure of the Dell manufacturing plant in Limerick was a major factor, made worse by the revision of schedules at the Shipping Lines running Continental Container Feeder Services. Now only one vessel a week calls to Cork after Dublin and transfers empty containers, while a

few years ago there were six such sailings. The fact that Exporters must send hauliers to Dublin to collect empty containers not only adds substantially to their own costs, but also means that shipping the laden boxes will also go through Dublin.

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Port Portals Seatruck’s fi rst of a series of four new vessels being built by the FSG Yard at Flensburg, Germany, was launched in August and named ‘Clipper Progress’. She will be delivered to Seatruck in November and each of the other three vessels will follow at two month intervals. The new vessels, though having a greater capacity than the current ships operating on the Line’s main Irish Sea routes, will still be ‘Heysham Max’ size with a shallow draft of 5.2 metres. On completion of the deliveries Seatruck will be able to replace the two small vessels operating on the Larne-Heysham route and develop the Heysham-Dublin route into a two-vessel operation with the chartered ‘Anglia Seaways’ returning to DFDS. Two Cunard ‘Queens’ to visit Irish Ports. Cunard Line’s ‘Queen Elizabeth’, which entered service in October 2010, will make her first Irish calls in September. The 2,100-passenger capacity Cruise Liner will call to Dublin on Friday the 9th before sailing on to Cork where she will dock at the Cobh cruise Terminal the following morning. While she is in Cork senior officers from the vessel will take part in a wreath laying ceremony at the spot 11 miles off Kinsale where the Cunard liner, ‘Lusitania’ sank on 7th of May 1915. She had been attacked by a German U-Boat. The ship's larger sister the ‘Queen Mary 2’ will berth at Cobh four days later. Irish Ports Policy and the environmental aspects of Port development will be principal themes of the Irish Ports Association Conference. It will be hosted by Rosslare Europort at the Ferrycarrig Hotel, Wexford on 30th September. The keynote address will be delivered by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, T.D. Secretary General of the Department, Tom O’Mahony will also speak on the evolving Irish Ports policy.

shipment of steel coils from their German client Novelis. The company is the world’s biggest recycler of drinks cans, recycling 40 billion cans a year. The basic idea of the ‘Ireland Efficiency Project’ is to exploit fully the 44-tonne weight limit on UK and Irish roads, four tonnes more than the German limit. Coils of aluminium sheet are collected from plants in Germany where cargo weight averages less than 20 tonnes and taken to Rotterdam Europoort. There they are consolidated onto trailers with a payload of 28 tonnes before of shipment to UK and Ireland. The consolidation of product from a number of plants also reduces transit times by more than 50 percent and, by taking away smaller shipment dramatically reduces CO2 emissions, according P&O Ferrymasters An EU ‘Blue Belt’ project, formally launched in December 2010 is now well into its initial trial stages. The long-term objective is aimed at creating a European maritime transport space without barriers, where ships will be able to operate freely with a minimum of administrative formalities, irrespective of their f lag. The combination of technology, maritime transport monitoring capacities and best practices will allow the establishment of such an area. The plan is that the ‘Blue Belt’ will be complemented by ‘Blue Lanes’ - administrative, technical and physical facilitations at Ports to ensure swift port transit of goods in free circulation within the European Community. Presently about 250 ships engaged in regular inter-EU trade are participating in the pilot project along with the Ports they serve. The results of these trials will be evaluated towards the end of 2011 so the plans for integrated systems can be fi nalised. Sources in Ireland and UK are enthusiastic about this ‘Blue Belt’ development, since the administration of products moving through borders by sea now far outweighs those for overland transit.

The environmental difficulties in balancing commercially sensible Port Development with public interest environmental protection policies and their application in Ireland will be the main theme for the second half of the one-day Conference. Speakers will include Environmental Activist Karen Dubsky and representatives for Ove Arup who will discuss the application of these policies throughout Europe.

Kuehne + Nagel and Maersk Line have signed a contract for the shipment by Maersk of 597,000 teu for the next year. This volume, the largest the line has ever signed with a freight forwarder, is more than the total volume of containers shipped through Dublin Port in 2010, and represents more than half of the containers shipped through all Ports on the island of Ireland.

P & O Ferrymasters has launched the 'Ireland Efficiency Project’ focused initially on the

K + N said this figure represents a 40 percent increase in the volume of their cargo shipped with the Danish carrier.

Maersk Line has signed a contract for delivery of 10 of the world’s largest container vessels with Korea’s DSME Shipyard. The line has also signed an option for 20 more of these vessels, each of which will have a container capacity of 18,000 teu, a 16 percent increase in capacity over the largest vessels currently in service. Maersk commented that if all of these containers were to be loaded onto a train, that train would be 110 kilometres long. With these vessels, the line hopes to achieve significant economies of scale, energy efficiency and environmental improvements. Serving such vessels with a 59-metre width and significant draft is going to present major challenges to European Port Operators. These vessels may not be able to use even the enlarged Panama Canal.

www.irishferriesfreight.com revamps its website. Irish Ferries Freight has revamped its website, www.irishferriesfreight.com, which houses irishferriesfreightengine.com, an intuitive business management tool. The new site is an inclusive simple system that is free, available 24/7, secure and business driven. www.irishferriesfreightengine.com offers a wide range of B2B services including 1) a quick and easy booking engine, 2) real time sailing updates and 3) a financial management tool that reduces delays in processing and ensures upto-date information on shipping costs. Other initiatives include: •

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Invoices, consolidated invoices, statements and credit notes available in PDF for printing or CSV for direct upload to customers systems'. Weekly and monthly shipping statistics information hub. Text or email booking details directly from the company's system to commercial drivers.

Mobile site For customers who are on the move, www. irishferriesfreight.com is also available as a mobile site. Customers can make and manage their bookings from their iPhones, Android or Blackberry. Pay online at www. irishferriesfreight.com houses a range of options for customers who want to pay online using secure technology. Th is site offers a wide range of facilities for customers that are unique to Irish Ferries Freight, and keep pace with round-the-clock transport needs. A technologically fit partner.

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