MARITIME 1
fleetMaritime: IRISH SHIPPING & FREIGHT Compiled by Howard Knott Edited by Jarlath Sweeney email: maritime@fleet.ie
Volume 8, No. 1 Spring 2013
‘Marco Polo’ the world’s largest containership enters service
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arco Polo’ the first of three sister ships being built by DSME (Daewoo shipbuilding and Marine Engineering) in South Korea was christened on 12 December 2012 at the Container Terminal in Zeebrugge in the presence of her godmother, Mrs. Naila Saade, President of the CMA-CGM Corporate Foundation and wife of Jacques Saade, Group Chairman and CEO. ‘Marco Polo’ has a capacity of 16,020 TEU (twenty foot equivalent units) and her overall dimensions are 396 metres long, 51 metres longer than ‘Queen Mary 2’, and 54 metres wide, with a draft of 16 metres. Were all the containers laid end to end they would stretch almost from Derry to Limerick. Her UK Port of call will be Southampton, docking there once every eleven weeks. The Port has recently installed new Container cranes built by Liebherr in Killarney, to handle this vessel and her sisters that are due to be delivered later in 2013. Speaking at the arrival of ‘Marco Polo’ at Southampton when en route to Zeebrugge, Doug Morrison, and Port Director, said; “We have now placed ourselves on the map as a terminal capable of handling
not only the world’s largest container ship, but also similar 18,000 TEU ships currently under construction. With work well underway on the GBP 150 million redevelopment of berth 201/202, DP World, Southampton will have an additional deep water facility from 2014.” Speaking at the DP World Terminal in the largest man-made Port at Jebel Ali in the UAE, when ‘Marco Polo’ called there on her way to Europe, Mohamed Al Muallem, Senior Vice-President of the UEA region for DP World said, ‘Jebel Ali Port is handling an average per week of three ultra-large container ships with a capacity of 14,000 TEU’s and above and we anticipate that the number will increase steadily in coming years. The Port is opening a new $850 million container Terminal in 2014 which will be able to handle ten of the next generation 18,000-TEU mega vessels at the same time.’ The ‘Marco Polo’ joins CMA-CGM’s ‘French Asia Line’ service with a 77 day round trip and is part of global network of 7 CMA-CGM services connecting Asia to Europe’s Atlantic Coast, based on 22 vessels of sizes ranging from 11,400 TEU upwards. CMA-CGM offers a total
of 34 services from China to various parts of Europe, North and South America, to Australia and Africa. Th is amounts to one sailing every 5 hours. An unusual aspect of the CMA-CGM ‘Marco Polo’ is that she is also equipped with fi ve passenger cabins, exclusively reserved for cargo cruises. Commenting on this aspect of the offering on board the vessel CMA-CGM’s Dublin Office Commercial Director, Alfie Tonge said that when the company had a full cruise holiday division their offers of such cargo cruises were always prohibitively expensive. He went to say that everybody within the organisation is very proud of the new vessel and the confidence that this expresses in the competitive development of the market. Independent analysts, Alphaliner’s end of 2012 Report on the global container ship market states that the global order book for such vessels stands at 3.43 million TEU’s, equivalent to 21% of the current fleet.
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Photo courtesy of CMA – CGM.
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Competition Authority has a good look at the Irish Ports Sector
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ithin 2012 the ease or difficulty with which Irish made goods moved out of Ireland and into the export Supply Chain became a matter of vital concern both for Government and Industry. ‘Fleet Maritime’ has focussed very much on the Shipping Lines and their service offerings to this process and on Ports such as Liverpool and Rotterdam that have been the main transit points for Irish cargoes. The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) published its Air Freight report with a focus on the Irish airports and the services that operate through them as well as the significant volumes of air freight that are trucked out of Ireland for shipping by air out of airports in Britain or the Continent. The Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport commissioned studies on the economic impact of light dues, the charges that ships must pay to meet the cost of provision of lighthouses and other aids to navigation in Irish waters, on shipping costs to and from Ireland, both in the present regime when they are operated in conjunction with the UK Authorities and from 2015 when Ireland will go it alone in this area. The Department also, just before Christmas, selected consultants, Indecon, to undertake a study of the ownership and organisation options for Rosslare Europort. Perhaps the most significant piece of work in the area is that being undertaken by the Competition Authority that will lead to a report on ‘Competition in the Irish Ports Sector’ and which is now out for Public Consultation. (The initial draft report produced as an enabler for public consultation can be downloaded from the Authority’s website. Th is is one of two pieces of work requested by Minister of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, T.D., the other one being on the costs of exporting with a major focus on transport and, in particular, ports and which is being carried out by Forfas. That ‘costs’ study will, as appropriate, feed into the Competition Authority work.
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The initial consultation document gives a very clear commentary on the Ports on the island of Ireland and the apparent strengths and weaknesses of Ports, though always from the viewpoint of their ability to offer customers a service level that is as competitive as possible. Particularly interesting is their analysis of the various models in operation in Port structures;
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some Ports work on a ‘landlord’ model in which the Port provides only the common services of pilotage etc and leases out Terminals and other facilities to competing operators, while at the other end of the scale are ‘full service’ Ports in which the Port Company provides both the infrastructure and all cargo handling services. Dublin would be an example of the first, Rosslare an example of the second type. An apparent weakness of the initial document is its focus on the current state of affairs and not looking forward to what the situation will be when the current recession ends. The crucial issue there is the development of a Port strategy that would enable the island of Ireland to be served effectively by larger and deeper vessels. In this context the possibilities of development of the deep water facility at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour and of Foynes so as to allow cargo to be shipped through those locations and to Irish Exporters and import customers is vital. In both instances Port development plans must incorporate development of both rail and road connections to their hinterland, even if in the case of Ringaskiddy, a barge link from quay to the railhead will be required. Equally important is the development of Dublin Port to enable larger feeder vessels and ferries to operate and
to drive costs down. In fact, it is probably a more serious issue than that, as failure to facilitate larger vessels will drive shipping costs much higher as the availability of ‘Dublin-max’ vessels dries up. Another issue that would repay further thought it is the way in which State services are provided and how this may impact on competitiveness. For example the requirement that cargoes that require examination by Deptartment of Agriculture officials must be brought to Dublin for that exam would appear to stack the cards against other Ports and, while it may save the department money, adds significant costs to traders. At the time of writing Minister Varadkar’s intention appears to be to publish the National Ports policy in early spring. While the publication would be greatly welcomed by those seeking clarity on where Irish Ports are going, it is, perhaps, a pity that the policy document will be published before the Competition Authority Report is published, as it will doubtless contain much information of value in devising a Ports strategy for Ireland.
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IRISH SEA ROUTES FLEETMARITIME | SPRING 2013 45
MARITIME 111
PORT PORTALS From Pizzas to Banking, Oetker conglomerate is seeking to merge its Hamburg Sud container shipping fellow2010 Hamburg based, Volume company 5, No. 4with Winter Hapag-Lloyd. Merger negotiations have been going on for a number of years and were expected to conclude during the fi rst quarter of 2013. The merged entity would be the world’s fourth largest ocean carrier and the partners’ respective route networks would be complementary as Hapag Lloyd focuses mainly on East-West routes while the focus at Hamburg Sud is mainly on Latin American and Australasian Trades. For some of these trades the line operates under the Alianca name and both brands are represented in Ireland by Dublin based, International Maritime Agents. Hapag Lloyd, through its Dublin Office, won the Irish Exporters Association, Deep Sea Shipping Line of the Year Award, sponsored by the Port of Cork, for 2012. Queen Mary 2, which is currently Cunard’s only true Ocean Liner, is scheduled to call to Dublin Bay on 16 May in the course of a North European cruise itinerary. The 148,000 tonne, 345 metre long, liner will anchor off Dun Laoghaire with up to 3000 passengers being ferried ashore. Th is will be her third visit to Irish waters. In 2005 she anchored off Dunmore East for a day while in 2011 she called to the Cruise Liner Terminal in Cobh. The Queen Mary 2 does include in her summer schedule a number of transatlantic sailings unlike any other Cruise Liner. The art collection aboard the vessel has been valued at about €4 million and she has the largest ballroom of any Liner built to date. Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company says that this call will mark the start of the harbour’s fi rst substantial Cruise Ship season. Present plans are to welcome 10 vessels to the South Dublin harbour during the coming summer. Volvo Cars has also confirmed its sponsorship for the fifth Dun Laoghaire Joint Clubs Regatta taking place from 11th to 14th July. Th is event is run every other year and has been backed by Volvo since the series commenced in 2005. With an anticipated turnout of over 450 boats with about two and a half thousand crew on board this Regatta now ranks among Europe’s top sailing spectaculars.
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New Volvo V40
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Greystones, County Wicklow’s harbour development will move substantially forward towards completion with the recent announcement that yacht brokers and marina operators, B J Marine will open a 100 berth marina in the new harbour in April 2012. The marina facility will include a full service boatyard serving local commercial as well as leisure vessels. The major infrastructure of the harbour was completed in 2012 and limited facilities were put into operation there. The news of the marina’s opening was greeted with enthusiasm by local political and tourism interests. Arklow Marine Services has announced that it is developing a strong reputation as a builder of support vessels for offshore energy projects. The County Wicklow company which is heir to a long ship and boat building tradition in Arklow has secured an order for a third wind farm service vessel for the great Yarmouth based Gardline Marine. The vessel is due for delivery in July 2013. Irish Ferries is reported to be satisfied with the results of bringing the ferry ‘Isle of Inishmore’ from the Rosslare / Pembroke route to operate a number of trips over the Christmas and New Year period on its Dublin / Holyhead route. The planned five round trips became seven when bad weather made sailing the ‘Dublin Swift’ difficult and overall carryings on the route over the period were satisfactory, a further indication that the long term decline in ferry passenger traffic has been halted. The ‘Oscar Wilde’ moved on to the Rosslare / Pembroke service replacing the ‘Isle of Inishmore’ over the Christmas period, while that vessel then took up the ‘Ulysses’ schedule while she went for her annual dry-dock. Irish Ferries intend to resume its Rosslare / Cherbourg service in the latter part of February. Eurotunnel has followed up a busy above the sea level year in 2012 when it bought three of the former Seafrance ferries and, through its Europorte rail freight business took over rail freight operations at a number of leading French Ports, with a bid to run the Ports of Calais and Boulogne. It has made an initial submission to run the Ports within the framework of a new public Service concession to be awarded by the Nord Pas-de-Calais Regional Council which owns the two Channel Ports. The new concession would run from late 2013 or early 2014 and the current operators, the Cote d’Opal Chamber of Commerce, has also declared an interest in the new concession. Earlier in 2012 Eurotunnel Chief Jacques Gounon had proposed to the Chamber that Eurotunnel be a minority partner in a bid for the new concession. He said; ‘it is my conviction that the three local structures – the Ports of Boulogne and Calais and Eurotunnel, as a dry Port – must have a coherent
development policy. And why not include the State owned Port of Dunkirk too? Under a ‘Calais 2015’ plan the Port plans to spend up to half a billion on infrastructure development over the next two to three years. ‘Fleet Maritime’ spoke with a local source about concerns that a Eurotunnel concession to operate the Ports might give rise to monopolistic practices there and push up costs of crossing the channel, but their opinion was that the Ports of Oostende and Zeebrugge are already strong competitors for the French Ports and that their services could be developed further should a demand emerge. Dunkirk reported a 10% increase in traffic on Ro-Ro services through the Port during 2012 to 13 million tonnes.
The ‘Seafrance Moliere’, a sister ship of the Superfast vessels that Stena is operating between Belfast and Cairnryan has now entered service on the DFDS/LD Lines service between Dover and Calais. Renamed ‘Dieppe Seaways,’ she displaces the chartered Brittany Ferries vessel which returns from that service to the western Channel routes. Shannon Foynes Port Company has just published ‘Vision 2041’, a draft plan which will promote and support the provision of Port infrastructure and services in the Shannon estuary over the next 30 years. Company Chief Executive, Pat Keating said, “Vision 2041 concentrates on three key objectives including expansion, promotion and management. Specifically these objectives include a significant expansion and infrastructural development in the deepwater Port of Foynes while also promoting non-core assets in Limerick Docks for alternative port/nonport related activities and managing the natural attributes of the estuary and its destination as an Ocean Energy Hub.” The draft plan can be downloaded from the Company’s website – www.sfpc.ie In September 2012 Shannon Foynes Port Company reported a 168% rise in pre-tax profits to €2.96 million in 2011, up from €1.1 million for 2010, boosted by a once-off €1million property sale. Cargo throughput at the County Limerick Port increased by 8% to 10.1 million tonnes, which comes on top of a 23.5% increase reported for 2010.
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EUROPEAN ROUTES
MARITIME 1V Mediterranean Shipping Line (MSC) has launched a new Atlantic Arc container feedering service based on Le Havre. There will be three vessels initially each with a capacity of 1600 TEU, one of which will serve Dublin and Greenock, a second one going to Liverpool while the third vessel will serve the French Biscay Ports. The vessel ‘MSC John Rickmers’ serving Dublin has a draft of 8.1 metres which is one metre more than the current series of feeder vessels being used by a number of lines to serve Irish Ports. In switching this operation to Le Havre MSC will increase container throughput at the River Seine Port by 350,000 TEU annually. CMA-CGM also services Ireland through Le Havre while CLdN/Cobelfret operates a weekly service from Radicatel, further inland.
Celtic Forwarding links with Sinotrans Finbarr Cleary, Managing Director of Dublin based Celtic Forwarding Ltd. has completed negotiations with Sinotrans, China’s largest freight forwarder and freight transport operator to represent them in Ireland. The Sinotrans operation includes 5,000 trucks, 1500 trailers, 1100 offices in 29 provinces, 67 bonded warehouses, 12 domestic distribution hubs, over 70 rail ramps, 56 Port Terminals and operate a network of Asian feeder ship services. Talking about the Sinotrans link, Gerry Kiernan at Celtic Forwarding said, "in more recent times China’s growing consumer society has led to high demand for quality products and Irish exports have targeted this market. Getting your products
to China is one thing. Gett ing your products onto the shelves of retail outlets throughout the country is quite another." The co-operation between the two companies means that Celtic Forwarding and Sinotrans can facilitate introductions between Irish manufacturers and Chinese importers/distributors in their relevant industry. Stena Line has re-jigged its schedule for the second vessel on the Dublin-Holyhead route. The morning departure from Holyhead has gone back to 08.55 from 08.20 and the evening sailing from there has come forward to 20.30 with scheduled arrival in Dublin just before midnight. The HSS, which ran successfully on its Dun LaoghaireHolyhead route over Christmas and New Year, will take up its service again on 22 March, earlier than the 2012 schedule.
Brittany Ferries has issued a statement welcoming the completion of the RN 174 through the Cotentin peninsula. This new toll-free dual carriageway will link Cherbourg with Caen and the major route A84. Trucks will be able to complete the 150km journey from the ferry Port to Caen in under two hours, bringing the total journey time to Paris to about 4.5 hours. Brittany Ferries will re-launch its Poole to Cherbourg service in March, while the Normandy Port also hosts Irish Ferries and Celtic Link Ferries. Transport Minister Varadkar’s commitment in the course of his New Year message to commence work during the year on the N11 Rathnew upgrade will further enhance the development of services through Rosslare.
DFDS Logistics upgrades Intermodal service schedules DFDS has recently implemented new schedules on its Ireland/Rotterdam container services that give Tuesday evening departures from Waterford, Dublin, Belfast and Cork with Thursday evening/Friday am arrival in Rotterdam for further distribution including to Italy using their scheduled rail service. A later week service departs from Dublin on Thursday, Waterford on Friday and Cork on Saturday reaching Rotterdam on Monday. At Rotterdam the services also connect with the line’s Norwegian sailings giving a seven day transit time from Irish Port to Oslo and to Bergen. Michael Connolly of DFDS commented: “Our weekly capacity on ships serving the Dublin, Waterford, and Rotterdam triangle is now 565 TEU in each direction. The fact that the vessels call to both Dublin and Waterford means that we have flexibility in capacity to cope with import demands via Dublin and export demands via Waterford.” The Iberian service sails from Dublin on Monday, arriving Bilbao on Friday with rail connection to Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona.
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Derry Bros’ New Look Website Goes Live
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erry Bros Shipping has just launched its new self service website. For businesses wishing to ship across the Irish Sea, English Channel and North Sea can now go online through www.derrybros.com and make the booking.
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booking space on a boat as easy as possible and have been rigorously testing the site to ensure that customers are now able to book with the minimum amount of effort. That’s not to say that we are not taking bookings over the phone. We want to give our customers choice, and by giving them an online option we feel that this is a natural progression in the service we offer”.
Company owner Brigid Derry (pictured) explains, “We have invested a considerable amount of time and money in developing our new site in order to address the needs of our customers. We want to make the process of
Derry Bros.com will not only give customers the ability to gain a quote and book online, it also gives customers vital information including route maps, timetables and fuel surcharges. To set up your on line account simply visit www.derrybros.com and follow the guide.
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AN ESSENTIAL PART OF YOUR TEAM FLEETMARITIME | SPRING 2013 47