Roro Service News

CMA CGM Group has entered into exclusive talks with STEF Group to buy La Méridionale, a mixed freight and passenger shipping company based in Marseille, France."The completion of this transaction is conditional upon the signature of the share transfer agreements, after information and consultation of the employee representative bodies, and authorizations from the various competition authorities," CMA CGM said."With this acquisition, CMA CGM Group wishes to pursue its development in the Mediterranean while strengthening the position of the port of Marseille and the French shipping industry…

The Estonian terminal operator HHLA TK Estonia is strengthening its position as a RoRo hub in the Baltic region.The wholly owned subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) said in a press release that the Finnish ferry company Eckerö Line recently began connecting the port of Muuga, where HHLA TK Estonia operates a multi-function terminal, with Vuosaari in Finland. Twice daily, the RoPax ferry Finbo Cargo enters the port of Muuga, which is about 20 kilometres east of the Estonian capital, Tallinn. On the Finnish side, Vuosaari – located in the east of Helsinki – is served.The focus of the new ferry connection is on truck and trailer traffic, though passengers with cars will also be transported.

Transporting a 112MT transformer across the world is no simple task. The stakes are even higher when the sophisticated cargo is destined for an oil and gas plant and time is of utmost importance.Global Freight Forwarder Kintetsu World Express (KWE) and CG Holdings Belgium NV Systems Division chose Höegh Autoliners, with its direct RoRo service, global agency network and breakbulk competence, to transport its 112 MT Transformer trailer from Antwerp to Dammam."With the customer’s tight deadline, Höegh’s Europe to the Middle East service was the perfect solution to transport the breakbulk unit, ensuring a timely service with minimum transit time," claimed a press release from the shipping company.When handling special and sensitive cargo, experienced cargo handling is imperative.

Swedish shipping company Swedish Orient Lines (SOL) announced  that it will add the port of Pietarsaari/Jakobstad (Finland) to its liner network with one weekly call using its vessels Thuleland and Tundraland.The service will offer direct port calls to Lübeck (Germany), Zeebrugge (Belgium) and Tilbury (UK). With its new route SOL supports BillerudKorsnäs export of paper products from its mill in Pietarsaari as well as other import and export cargo to the region.BillerudKorsnäs focuses on offering the packaging market sustainable materials and solutions that increase customers’ profitability while at the same time improving the overall environmental impact“From the beginning of January next year SOL offers a weekly RoRo service between Pietarsaari/Jakobstad…

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Sunday launched a ferry route that will connect the two countries. The Davao-General Santos-Bitung roll on/roll off shipping service from Mindanao to North Sulawesi, Indonesia at the Sasa port in Davao City is launched in a bid to further boost trade in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region. According to local media reports, the vessel sailed off for the Davao-GenSan-Bitung sea route with initial 50 containers, five of which are flour cargoes produced by Pilmico Foods Corp. This new route will shorten shipping lead time from five weeks to two and a half days, Jakarta Globe reported Jokowi as saying.

Broward County's Port Everglades exceeded one-million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the industry's standard container measurement), for the third consecutive year, reporting a total of almost 1.04 million TEUs and maintaining its status as Florida's number one container port, according to preliminary data for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. Compared to the prior fiscal year 2015, total TEUs were down by 2 percent from 1.06 million, which Port officials attribute to market fluctuations. However, Port Everglades posted its best September ever with 90,641 TEUs compared to 80,550 TEUs in 2015. Looking at growth over the past five years, TEU throughput is up almost 18 percent from FY2011 to FY2016.

Speaking at the 4th Annual Black Sea Ports and Shipping Conference 2015 on May 29th on the subject of Black Sea Ports as agents of economic growth for the region, APM Terminals Poti Deputy Managing Director Joseph Crowley discussed the advantages of Poti Seaport as the prominent gateway for Black Sea, Mediterranean and Central Asian trade. “While recent World Bank economic growth forecasts for the broader Caucasus region have been reduced, APM Terminals is committed to our ongoing investment in Poti Seaport to anticipate and satisfy the future demand potential” said Mr. Crowley, adding “this infrastructure investment into the port will help make future gateway volume growth possible, a major factor in Georgia’s growing presence as a global trading partner”.

The Norwegian shipping company Nor Lines has started a direct weekly RoRo connection between German Port of Cuxhaven and Norway. The first departure of the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered 5,000 dwt short sea cargo vessel MS Kvitbjørn was on May 7. Two new RoRo vessels - vitbjørn and Kvitnos - will be used on this service. ”The favourable location of the CuxPort Terminal, Cuxhaven and its logistics expertise, particularly in the RoRo sector, played a major role in our choice of port,” said Sigurd Ur, Director for Sales & Marketing at Nor Lines. In addition to performing the handling work, Cuxport will also operate as the clearance and booking agent. The port logistics specialist will also carry out the marketing work for Nor Lines in Germany.

Short-sea shipping, also referred to as the “Marine Highway” and, in some cases, “coastal shipping,” is the subject of more studies than we can list. Whatever the label, the concept refers to an initiative to get freight off our roadways, which are at capacity, and onto our waterways, which have to yet to be tapped to their potential. More than likely you’ve heard about the promises of this mode of transport, including reduced highway congestion, reduced consumption of fuel and fewer emissions per unit shipped. So what’s the hold up?

OT Africa Line (OTAL ) is to move its port operations in Amsterdam from the Ceres Amsterdam Marine Terminal to the USA Terminal, a new deep sea terminal and multimodal distribution center operated by United Stevedores Amsterdam (USA). As of September 2002, OTAL vessels will call at the USA Terminal, which is located in the Amerikahaven within Amsterdam Westpoort. Vessels on both OTAL's weekly container service and weekly RoRo service will call at the USA Terminal every seven days en route to West Africa. The first OTAL vessel to call will be Rokia (337) on September 2,2002.

Crowley Liner Services will launch a new, dedicated, direct, weekly RoRo service between Port Everglades, Fla., and Kingston, Jamaica, beginning January 7, 2000. The new service, previously handled through Crowley's Central America Southern Zone Service, will reduce transit times and increase capacity for customers shipping between Port Everglades and Kingston. "We've dedicated a Ro/Ro vessel specifically for this service in order to accommodate customers shipping increased cargo volumes both northbound and southbound," said Rinus Schepen, senior vice-president and general manager, Latin America. "With weekly departures on Friday evenings from Port Everglades, customers will have ample time to deliver time-sensitive cargo for arrival in Kingston on Monday mornings.

Crowley Liner Services will launch a new, dedicated, direct, weekly RoRo service between Port Everglades, Fla., and Kingston, Jamaica, beginning January 7, 2000. The new service, previously handled through Crowley's Central America Southern Zone Service, will reduce transit times and increase capacity for customers shipping between Port Everglades and Kingston. "We've dedicated a Ro/Ro vessel specifically for this service in order to accommodate customers shipping increased cargo volumes both northbound and southbound," said Rinus Schepen, senior vice-president and general manager, Latin America. "With weekly departures on Friday evenings from Port Everglades, customers will have ample time to deliver time-sensitive cargo for arrival in Kingston on Monday mornings.

OT Africa Line (OTAL) announced some changes to its North Europe – West Africa services. These take into account various factors including a slight downturn in overall trade volumes, civil unrest in certain countries and improved availability of roll-on, roll-off multi-purpose tonnage. OTAL’s RoRo service is resuming its nine day frequency utilising six vessels on a 45-day round-trip schedule. This has been made possible by the return to the service of Rokia Delmas and Rosa Delmas. Both ships have recently been employed in support of the military action in Iraq and during their absence, the service was reduced to an eleven-day frequency utilizing three RoRo vessels.