Consortia to stay for another five years 2
The European Commission published a final regulation extending the EU liner consortia block exemption regulation (BER) until
25 April 2024,
without modification. It will allow shipping lines in consortia to continue to operate vessel sharing arrangements that have a market share of up to 30%. In its staff working document
published last autumn, the Commission found that consortia allow their members to pool their vessels together and provide
services or frequencies that carriers would not be able to provide on their own and that cost efficiencies have been passed on to customers. Quality of services has not deteriorated since 2014, it said. The World Shipping Council
(WSC) welcomed the move, saying: “The liner shipping industry has maintained support for the BER because it creates legal certainty for the use of vessel sharing agreements, which are essential operating
tools used by carriers to provide customers with better services at lower cost and with improved environmental performance.” WSC president and chief
executive John Butler added: “Vessel sharing is the backbone of the global liner shipping network, and we should not underestimate the value of this tool for smaller carriers and lower volume trade lanes where demand might not otherwise support as many competitors.” The Global Shippers Forum
Virus fails to delay Tilbury2 opening
Coronavirus may have played havoc with the global economy and disrupted international trade, but the new Tilbury2 port is due to come to market in less than a month’s time, said Forth Ports chief executive, Charles Hammond. The new terminal on the
outskirts of London “will inject a transformational amount of ferry capacity into the south east of England”, he said, adding: “This shot in the arm for the British economy could not come at a better time. Tilbury’s owners, the Forth Ports group, are investing £250m in a new 160-acre site to create the UK’s largest unaccompanied freight ferry port and the biggest construction processing hub to feed
the burgeoning domestic
housing market.” Occupying the old Tilbury Power Station site just outside
(GSF) disagreed, saying: “Aſter conducting an intensive and well- evidenced campaign against the CBER, GSF is disappointed and frustrated by this decision. But GSF also recognises the pressing need for global supply chains to be kept functioning under the current extreme conditions created by the COVID-19 virus. With the current block exemption expiring on 25 April, this decision will provide the needed continuity for shipping consortia to operate in the short-term.”
the M25, P&O Ferries will start operating the new terminal with significant headroom to expand ferry connections to northern Europe. P&O expects the Tilbury- Zeebrugge route to rival Calais- Dover as a gateway to Britain within ten years. Tilbury2 will also be Brexit-
ready when the first ship docks at the start of April.
The Port of says it is doing everything possible to ensure it remains open throughout the corona virus crisis. It has established a steering
group to oversee and direct its response and has increased cleaning arrangements at haulier check-in and put in place arrangements to deep clean facilities and plant if necessary.
Felixstowe takes steps to keep cargo moving All
ships must submit
a Declaration of Health Statement before being allowed to enter the port. Felixstowe has also created
a second operations centre in a separate building and split the control tower operation into two teams to ensure resilience. New
arrangements are by
Issue 3 2020 - Freight Business Journal
News Roundup
The British Ports Association (BPA) has launched a new information resource for dealing with the coronavirus outbreak. The BPA is now signposting all the information and guidance being issued by government and numerous other agencies in one place in a clear and concise manner. BPA has also asked law firm Hill Dickinson to produce a short paper on the employment implications for UK ports as the shipping industry addresses the global coronavirus pandemic.
www.britishports.org.uk/ coronavirus
///NEWS Sea
OOCL has signed contracts with two Chinese yards for five new 23,000teu container vessels due to be delivered from 2023. OOCL currently has six G-Class mega-vessels of 21,000teu, ordered in March 2015. The original plan was for a second batch of five to six mega vessels but this was cancelled due to poor market conditions and the sale of OOCL’s parent company, OOIL group to Cosco Shipping Holdings. The new tonnage would allow OOCL to independently form a complete loop in the Asia-Europe trade although it also plans to return or dispose of 13 vessels from its fleet, totalling around 76,000teu, over the next five years.
function to reduce the risk of contamination across key roles such as crane drivers. The port has also introduced
home working and rotating teams for
support functions
rest-period gang
or team rather than job
as practicable along with welfare visits/calls to ensure employees receive the support they need. Non business critical visits to the port are restricted.
Dublin Port Company reported a decline in overall port tonnage of 4.8% compared to the first quarter of 2019 in its first quarter trading figures for 2020. The first three months of 2019 were dominated by the original Brexit departure date of 31 March 2019 and volumes were very high due to stockpiling. Then, in the first quarter of 2020 the coronavirus hit, particularly in March, combined with disruptions due to bad weather in February which caused volumes to decline by 470,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2020. Unitised trade (trailers and containers) fell by 4.4% to 360,000 units, ro ro by 5.3% to 256,000 units and lo lo by 2.2% to 187,000teu. Imports of new trade vehicles decreased by 10.3% to 30,000 in the first quarter and a significant continuing decline seems inevitable for the rest of the year.
Ocean Network Express has appointed two new third-party agents - Romeu Algeria and Global Container Agency Tunisie to expand its coverage in Algeria and Tunisia North Africa. From 20 April ONE’s MD1 service connecting Asia to the Mediterranean will have feeder vessels between Valencia, Spain to Rades, Tunisia and Algiers and Oran, Algeria.
Victoria Beattie has joined the Port of Tyne as head of estates. A chartered quantity surveyor, she has over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry and joins the port from the Gateshead Housing Company.
The Coastlink Conference on short-sea and inland shipping due to be held at the Port of Antwerp in May has been postponed to Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 November 2020, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Organisers say that the conference programme and format will remain identical and that most speakers have re-confirmed their attendance for the new dates.
https://www.coastlink.co.uk/latest-news101/new-dates-announced- for-coastlink-2020
General secretary of the TSSA union Manuel Cortes has called on the UK tofollow the example of the Irish Government aſter Dublin stepped in to provide major funding and support to keep sea routes running during the Coronavirus crisis. Ireland has pledged a €15 million support package for ferry routes run by Irish Ferries, Stena Line and Brittany Ferries, meaning that routes from Ireland to Wales, France and Spain will effectively be operated by the state for three months.
APM Terminals in North America and the Virginia Port Authority are offering a COVID-19 critical cargo handling service at its facilities in Port Elizabeth, South Florida Container Terminal, Mobile, Los Angeles, and Lazaro Cardenas (Mexico). Qualifying shipments include COVID-19 test kits, medical ventilators and respirators, personal protective equipment (PPE), hand sanitizer, raw materials going into PPE production, and other medical cargoes, to be mutually agreed upon by the port and ocean carrier.
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