8 >> 7 long-delayed


Issue 5 2021 - Freight Business Journal


envisaged the recreation of


a nationwide rail operation, Great British Railways (GBR). Schemes could include the remodelling


of the Ely North junction to improve freight journeys across East Anglia and from the Port of Felixstowe to the Midlands and northern England. It will also explore ways to enable future Strategic Rail Freight Interchanges to be located more appropriately around the country. It promised a new, customer- focused approach for freight


customers with “modern track access rights and new safeguards” under its plans to overhaul the rail network in Great Britain. The plan promised a new,


rules-based track access regime underpinned by legislation that, “though not set in stone, cannot be changed at Great British Railways’ sole initiative. It will be designed in partnership with the market as part of a wider track access framework consultation.” The Office of the Rail


Regulator (ORR) will act as an appeals body for operators or


applicants to ensure that GBR fairly applies policies on track access and charging. GBR will also have a


statutory duty to promote rail freight to secure economic, environmental and social benefits for the nation. The government will issue guidance on its priorities for rail freight in each funding settlement. Future access agreements


could include more flexible use of train paths and simpler ways of charging or building upon the offer of longer contract terms to support investment


by operators. To


improve the freight


customer experience, a national freight co-ordination team will be created within GBR to act as a single point of contact for operators and customers. It will help to embed


freight firmly into


strategic decision making, including by incorporating freight into the new 30-year strategy. The government will also set


a growth target for rail freight, as has been done in Scotland, but this should not become a ceiling.


Unifeeder has launched a container service between


Southampton, Belfast and Cork. It will offer a fixed weekday schedule to and from Ireland, departing Southampton on Monday, arriving in Belfast on Thursday, Cork on Friday and arriving back in Southampton on Saturday. Unifeeder chief commercial officer Martin Gaard said the line expected to add Dublin to the route soon.


DP World’s Unifeeder Group has gained regulatory approval for its acquisition of Transworld Feeders, Avana Logistek and Avana Global. The short sea operator said the move would strengthen its network in the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Gulf and South East Asia.


Hutchison Ports’ London Thamesport in Kent has gained a new WEC Line service to Bilbao. The new route offers a transit time of 72 hours and one stop shop including customs clearance, cross docking, canvas haulage and warehousing.


The European Parliament and


EU Council have


reached agreement on new Eurovignette road charging rules for trucks to transition from time-based to distance- based charging. The


provisional deal will


update the rules defining charges EU member states can impose on trucks vans and other vehicles using the trans- European transport (TEN-T) network. Under the new rules, EU countries will need to set different road charging rates based on CO2 emissions for trucks, as soon as additional


rules on CO2 classes for vehicles are set, possibly in 2023, and charges based on environmental performance for vans and minibuses as of 2026. There will be major reductions for zero or low emission vehicles. Time-based ‘vignettes’ will


be phased out across the core TEN-T network from 2029 for heavy-duty vehicles, but member states will still be able to retain them for specific parts of this system, if they can prove that a new mode of charging would be disproportionate relative to expected revenue.


To ensure occasional users


and drivers from other EU countries are treated fairly, the provisional deal also created shorter validity periods (one day, one week or 10 days). Five years from the entry


into force of these rules, the Commission will assess charging for light-duty vehicles in order to decide if vans used for commercial purposes should follow the same charging models as trucks. The deal now needs to


be approved by EU states’ representatives and the Parliament’s transport


committee, and then by the Council and Parliament as a whole. Nicolette


van der Jagt,


director general of European forwarders’ organisation, CLECAT welcomed the provisional agreement, saying that the move towards distance- based charging and phasing- out of the vignette for heavy vehicles would standardise a currently fragmented system. However, she said that it


could be more ambitious in earmarking road charging revenues for investment in transport infrastructure.


Containerships is to combine two formerly separate services into a new weekly Balt 7 route serving Klaipeda, Gdynia, Teesport and Tilbury. The service is designed to ensure increased supply of empty containers into Poland to meet growing demand and will be operated by two LNG-powered 1,380teu vessels.


Hapag-Lloyd has ordered another six ultra large container vessels of over 23,500teu from South Korean’s Daewoo. They will have dual-fuel engines that can use liquefied natural gas (LNG) and deliveries are to begin in 2024. The German-owned liner operator has already placed an order for six ships of the same size at the end of 2020. The vessels will be deployed on the Europe-Far East routes as part of THE Alliance.


Hapag-Lloyd has ordered 60,000teu of dry van standard containers in response to the worldwide shortage of boxes. It will bring the German line’s total fleet to 210,000teu. The first are scheduled to be delivered as early as July but the majority will be added to the fleet in the third quarter of the year. Hapag- Lloyd had already announced orders for a total of around 150,000teu of standard and reefer containers to be delivered over 2021.


AP Moller-Maersk area managing director for the UK and Ireland Jeremy Haycock, who has led the organisation since early 2020, is leaving the company at the end of July to pursue external career opportunities. His replacement is Gary Jeffreys, currently managing director for UK and Ireland at Maersk’s partner in the 2M consortium, CMA CGM. He will assume his new role on 10 August. He previously held various leadership positions at Maersk before leaving to join CMA CGM.


Associated British Ports (ABP) has appointed Paul Reeves as head of commercial for the Southampton region. He is currently vice president of sales for the UK and Ireland at rolling cargo line Wallenius Wilhelmsen. He will take up the role in August.


PD Ports, statutory harbour authority for the River Tees and owner and operator of Teesport, has launched a new digital platform to promote the river and support the Government in delivering its ‘levelling up’ agenda for the North. The new platform is described as “a vital tool for river users, potential investors and stakeholders to access a wealth of information about the river’s world-class operations”.


News Roundup


Samskip has added a call in Waterford and introduced a larger and faster ship to its recently launched weekly container service between Dublin and Amsterdam. It comes less than five months after the debut of Amsterdam as a service separate from Samskip’s Rotterdam- Ireland route.


///NEWS Sea


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