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Issue 1 2020 - Freight Business Journal


///NEWS


Mann Lines add Rotterdam


Mann Lines Ro-Ro service has added Rotterdam to its regular liner service, with the first call on 22 January at the Broekman Distriport Terminal. The schedule will be Harwich - Rotterdam - Cuxhaven - Paldiski - Turku - Bremerhaven - Harwich. The service can handle all types of cargo including trailers, cars, mobile machines, containers as well as timber, steel and other conventional cargo. Mann Lines general manager


David Brooks told FBJ that, since


the introduction of a


new larger vessel, the Freyja, there had been a certain amount of capacity available in the schedule. Aſter careful study of different options, a call at Broekman’s terminal in Rotterdam had been added. Brooks added that looming


Brexit was also a factor in the decision to seek new markets in Continental Europe, although he was not unduly concerned about the immediate effect on trade to and from the UK. The new call would cater mainly for traffic between Rotterdam,


Finland and the Baltics, including connecting traffic between the Baltic region and Russia via Rotterdam to Africa, where there is a brisk trade in secondhand vehicles from the former Soviet region. Mann


Lines currently


operates from the small Navyard port in Harwich which its parent company owns. The owner has submitted planning permission to redevelop the site for waterfront housing, but Brooks


Ferry agent bucks the trend in stagnant market


Ferry booking agent Freightlink says that it has seen strong growth in 2019 despite downward market trends. In the year up to and including 2019,


September overall said that plans were


in place to move the Mann Lines operation to Hutchison- owned Harwich International port if and when that became necessary. He said: “It is an advantage


to own your own port; you can work the ship when you want to, and I can look out of my office window and see the operation.” On the other hand Harwich


Navyard is close to capacity and the 200m long Freyja is close to the port’s physical limit, without expensive rebuilding, although there are no immediate plans to replace her.


volumes of accompanied and unaccompanied units using short-sea ferry routes to and from the south east Kent ports and terminals declined by 4.6% - equivalent to a shortfall of over 125,000 units for the year to date. Since 2017, volumes to September 2019 have declined on these routes by 5.4% which translates to well over 200,000 unit movements in the past two years. Western Channel


routes in general are also underperforming by around 4% this year, but Irish Sea routes have shown greater resilience with 1% growth up to September. Although the numbers are very small by comparison, direct services between Ireland and Continental Europe are buoyant too.


Freightlink


director Mark Stephens, comments: “There are many reasons for this market contraction, but it is clear that


Brexit uncertainty has played a major part in constraining trade between mainland Europe and the UK and vice versa. However, at Freightlink we have bucked the trend and maintained our growth levels well into double- digit figures during this period. We expect to see this direction of improvement continue.” Prior to the vote to leave


the EU market, growth year on year had generally been in positive territory. Freightlink has meanwhile


witnessed a dynamic change whilst the future trading relationship between the UK and the EU is being determined. “We are extremely pleased with our results against this tough market backdrop”, continued Stephens. “To have substantially increased our market share during these challenging times speaks volumes of the investments we have continued to make to provide an extremely attractive one-stop trading point for our clients using the Channel Tunnel and a multitude of ferry services across Europe.”


New man at the helm of Maersk UK


Maersk managing director for


UK and Ireland Brian Godsafe is to retire on 1 March and his place will be taken by Jeremy Haycock (pictured), currently area sales manager for the UK and Ireland. Brian Godsafe has been with


Maersk and Safmarine since 1982 and has held various positions before being named managing director in 2011. From the beginning of 2019 he took over the combined ocean and logistics businesses of Maersk in UK & Ireland, as area managing director.


East Mids appoints cargo chief


East Midlands Airport (EMA) has appointed Steven Harvey as its new vice president of cargo. His previous roles in a 30-year career in the industry include being a director CargoLogic and roles at Atlas Air, Volga Dnepr and Ruslan. EMA handles several express


and mail operators and is second only to London Heathrow in cargo handled. It is also one of the few major UK airports to have a dedicated cargo manager, following the departure of Nick


Platts from Heathrow. Recently, EMA recorded its


highest ever monthly cargo volume with over 34,877 tonnes passing through the airport in October. Work is nearing completion on


EMA’s East Apron extension which serves the FedEx m, UPS, and Royal Mail operations and will allow up to four more aircraſt to be parked. UPS’s new facility is also rapidly taking shape and will be its largest air logistics facility outside the US.


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