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NEWS Shipping lines shun the UK


The UK’s importance to containership operators has diminished, Drewry Supply Chain Advisors’ David Charlesworth told the Freight by Water conference in Bristol on 16 March. Whereas five years ago, virtually all major services from the UK to Europe called here, now only 20 out of 31 did so, he said. Moreover, there were now only five services from Asia that had the


UK as their first port of call. While it was unlikely that the UK would end up being solely served by transshipment, the increasing size of container ships was moving the market in that direction, he said. “There is a risk of at least some direct calls going away,” he told the conference. Andrew Traill, of The Shipper’s


Voice, commented: “There are those would argue that


New ro ro option to the East


Singapore-based RoRo Line PTE and Asian based TMT Group are to start a ro ro service from Immingham, Antwerp and Bremerhaven to East Africa, south-east Asia and the Far East.


Initially the vessels will run from China to East Africa and the Med and North Europe and then return fast via Mombasa and Dar Es Salaam to Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Xingang. The line says that it will be the fastest service to both regions from the UK and North Europe and it will operate every 30 days.


The first service was due to start loading in North Europe on 14 March, operated by the motor vessel A Ladybug, newly delivered from a Singapore yard. Nobu Su, the founder of RoRo Line said he “was looking forward to be able to deploy his ‘Ladybugs’ into the


European Trades” and aimed to offer a competitive, fast and efficient service to the fastest growing markets in China and south-east Asia. The next three vessels in the Ladybug series are due for delivery over the next few months.


The Ladybugs are one of


the largest PCTC (pure car and truck carrier) vessels ever built with a capacity of 7,600 cars or a mixture of high/heavy and plant type cargoes. Maximum ramp capacity is 320 tonnes while 100-tonne capacity mafi units will be suitable for a range of plant and project cargoes as well as vehicles.


RoRo Line has been active in the Far East to Indian Ocean trades for the past seven years. It is associated with the Asian based TMT Group which owns oil and other bulk vessels. UK agents are AB Global Logistics of Romford.


JS sells China Agency stake


Liner agent Johnson Stevens is in discussions with two Far East to Europe shipping lines after it sold its shares in China Shipping UK Agency to the parent line in February. Johnson Stevens chairman Derek Johnson said: “We have been involved in the Far East market for many years, first with Yang Ming and then with China Shipping, and it would be wrong of us not to be engaged in this region.” The lines involved in the discussions would be pure container operators and would be either new to Europe or new to the UK, he said.


The parting of the ways


with China Shipping had been “perfectly amicable” and a natural progression following the development of the line’s business in the UK and Europe. “It was my idea rather than theirs,” he added.


China Shipping Agency was a totally stand alone company and its day to day operations, Felixstowe offices and personnel will remain basically unchanged. Johnson Stevens Agencies will also continue to be headquartered in China Shipping House, Felixstowe, though the company also maintains another office in the town.


transhipment is not necessarily a bad thing, particularly if it is to or from a regional port that allows cargo to get closer to the customer. However, if you talk to people in Scandinavia, where there are almost no direct deepsea container services, they all say to a man that it is a bad thing. I suspect that if the same situation were to arise in the UK, there would be many complaints from shippers


in the south of the UK where they have always enjoyed direct services.”


Shippers everywhere faced other problems, Charlesworth also told the conference. One was


the volatility of ocean


freight rates which, for instance had seen China/UK prices rise from $1000 a box a few years ago to $3600 recently, although they had since tumbled again very significantly.


Direct to Chennai Safmarine is introducing a


third service between Europe and the Indian Subcontinent, including a direct link with Chennai. Prime-2 complements the


existing Prime-1 service


from North Europe and Prime-3 from the Mediterranean to the Arabian Persian Gulf and the west coast of India. Trade


director Kris Van


Den Brande said that transit times would be improved by an average of four days from Chennai to Felixstowe, and with an average of 22 days’ transit time from Rotterdam to Chennai. An additional Salalah call westbound will also improve transit times to and from Pakistan while


a call in Colombo will offer transhipment opportunities for Bangladesh and south India, as well as the local Sri Lankan market. Seven Panamax type vessels with an average capacity of 3,550teu will operate the route.


The service is being operated jointly with Maersk which is marketing it as the ICON service.


End in sight for 100% box scanning rule


The Republicans’ success in the recent US legislative elections could spell the end for the 100% container scanning rule, according to Brussels sources. The party has generally been hostile to the concept due to its effect on trade, and now holds all the committee chairs in the House, allowing it to set the agenda. The US administration, has meanwhile been dragging its heels on implementing the measure which was introduced


by Congress. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has said she will extend the implementation deadline from July 2012 to July 2014 and possibly beyond.


But she is also expected to unveil a global supply chain security strategy in the next few months as an alternative to 100% scanning. However, the 100% rule remains on the statute books and still needs to be formally repealed.


Almost as big as Texas itself...


ISSUE 2 2011


ROUND-UP: SHIPPING


CMA CGM has made some changes to its EPIC service between North Europe, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. There is a new westbound call at Port Said to improve transit times to the eastern Mediterranean. The Salalah call is replaced by one at Khor Fakkan in the UAE to provide connections with the Mascareignes line serving the Indian Ocean.


The fleet has also been standardised with eight 5,700teu vessels. UK call is Southampton and the service also calls at Jebel Ali, Port Qasim, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Jeddah and, westbound, Malta and Tangiers.


Shortsea operator Unifeeder has added a two-vessel weekly “butterfly” route between Immingham, South Shields and Grangemouth and Gdynia and Gdansk. This follows the introduction nine months ago of new services connecting Felixstowe, Immingham, Teesport, South Shields and Grangemouth with Rotterdam and Hamburg.


Mitsui OSK Line (MOL) is upgrading its Europe/West Africa service to a fixed day weekly service from 6 April. The service calls at Thamesport in the UK and, in West Africa, Dakar (Senegal), Tin Can (Nigeria), Tema (Ghana), Antwerp, Hamburg. Abidjan will also be added when the political situation in the Ivory Coast allows.


German Police raided the offices of heavylift operator Beluga Shipping in Bremen on 23 March, in connection with an ongoing investigation into an alleged fraud by former chief executive, Niels Stolberg. Earlier, the company made some of its subsidiaries insolvent and some chartered ships have been reclaimed by their owners. The investigation follows a complaint by a US private-equity fund shareholder Oaktree, which lodged a complaint with German prosecutors of improper accounting practices and has now taken over management of the company.


Ramsgate/Ostend operator Transeuropa Ferries has ended its year- old commercial agreement with French ferry company LD Lines. The passenger ferry Ostend Spirit, formerly Norman Spirit, will be returned to LD Lines. Transeuropa said the move would allow it to better adapt to market demand and tonnage requirements of both operators. It would continue to maintain the service with its remaining vessels, the Gardenia and the Larkspur, while it searched for alternative tonnage. Both companies will continue to study opportunities to renew commercial agreements and work together again in the future.


The people of Dover voted overwhelmingly for a plan to try to buy the UK’s leading ferry port in a referendum organised by the Dover People’s Port Trust on 24 March. Some 5,244 people voted in favour, with only 113 against, although the turnout was only about a quarter of the 21,000 eligible voters.


Dover stevedore George Hammond has secured a new South American service to the general cargo lo lo facility at the port.. Seatrade’s new Rayo service from Ecuador will carry bananas for Morrisons, Fyffes, Winfresh and Dole Fresh UK. The service also calls into Marin, Spain to combine with the CeltIberian service, offering a two-day onwards service to Dover for seasonal fruits and vegetables.


Stena Line’s new ro ro vessel the Stena Transporter has started service on the Hoek van Holland-Killingholme route. She offers 4.000 lane metres and accommodation for 300 drivers.


Southampton has received consent for construction of a new quay wall at Berths 201 and 202. The redeveloped quay will be 500m long with a 16m draft and capable of handling the largest container vessels afloat today. Port director Doug Morrison said: “With the size of container vessels continuing to increase, the container terminal can no longer accommodate four of the largest container ships simultaneously – this development will rectify that situation by creating the ‘lost’ fourth berth.” The main works will start in September 2012 with completion anticipated by the end of 2013.


At the same time Network Rail has completed extensive works to upgrade the capacity for 9’ 6” containers between the port and the West Coast main line. Previously ‘high cube’ containers had to be loaded onto specialist wagons.


Finnish-based Containerships CEO Sigurjón Markússon has died, aged 49. He underwent emergency surgery following a sudden subdural hematoma but passed away in intensive care on 22 February. Mimmi Nordström will be stepping in as acting CEO until further notice.


Bellville Rodair International moved a 420-tonne styrene condenser from Port Marghera, Italy, to La Porte, Texas for petrochemicals giant, Ineos Nova. The forwarder said it could be the heaviest piece of freight it had ever moved.


Brian Godsafe has been appointed Maersk Line UK & Ireland managing director, replacing Annemette Jepsen, who is joining shortsea operator Unifeeder as chief operating officer in Denmark. Mr Godsafe was previously Maersk Line UK’s customer service director.


French shipping and logistics group Bollore said plans to build a third quay at the port of Lome in Togo and plans to double container traffic within five years. The quay will be 450 metres long, 15 metres deep and will handle vessels up to 7,000teu.


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