Shuttle Service News

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday the global oversupply of container ships and a crisis in the Red Sea will force it to cut costs in 2024, adapting sailings and ports following a bruising 83% fall in net profit.Ship operators face prolonged disruption while Yemen-based Houthi militants are attacking vessels travelling on one of the world's busiest routes, wiping out the benefit from higher freight rates with costly redirections around Africa.Hapag-Lloyd's problems chime with those of competitors such as Maersk and CMA CGM, exacerbated by the arrival of additional ships orde

The first vessel carrying LNG for Germany's Baltic Sea terminal of Mukran arrived on Saturday for a test operation as the country steps up its quest to replace Russian pipeline gas.Private company Deutsche ReGas said that Energos Power, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), had moored at the terminal on Ruegen Island, having received approval from local authorities.Germany has intensified its quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores, as European countries seek to reduce their heavy reliance on Russian gas following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.The tests will

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded nearly $39 million in grants to 12 marine highway projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The funding will help expand marine highway services on the United States’ navigable waterways to reduce congestion, alleviate supply chain bottlenecks, and move goods more quickly from ships to shelves.“At a time of record demand for goods, it’s more important than ever to…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $12.6 million in grants to nine marine highway projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The funding will help address supply chain disruptions, enhance the movement of goods along our navigable waterways, and expand existing waterborne freight services in Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.“These investments through the America’s Marine Highway Program will help us move more goods…

Finnish marine equipment and technology company Wärtsilä said on Thursday it is working to develop an autonomous, emissions-free intra-port, inter-terminal container shuttle that would help address the emerging capacity bottleneck for internal container transportation.The project is part of an international alliance headed by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, which has this month been awarded nearly €25 million in EU funding to implement projects aimed at sustainable and smart port logistics.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $9.5 million in grants to eight marine highways projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program. The funding supports the enhancement of navigable waterways and expands existing waterborne freight services in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington and American Samoa.“This Federal assistance will provide additional options to reduce congestion on the roads and help the surrounding local communities’ and the regions’ economic recovery…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Monday announced more than $7.5 million in grants to nine Marine Highway projects. The funding, provided by MARAD’s America’s Marine Highway Program, will go toward enhancing existing services in Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and Washington“This $7.5 million investment will improve our country’s vital fuel-efficient waterway transportation system, which makes an important contribution to exports and economic growth,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L.

Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP) and Danish shipping and logistics company DFDS have reached an agreement to establish a shore power facility in Copenhagen, which means that the Crown Seaways and Pearl Seaways vessels will be able to receive electricity from land.A shore power facility will reduce emissions of air contaminated particles such as NOx, SOx and particulate matter, which goes hand in hand with the ambitions of both CMP and DFDS to actively contribute to a greener Copenhagen.CMP and DFDS are engaged in a joint effort, which means that the DFDS vessels will be able to be connected to shore power from next year.With DFDS’ scheduled ferry services…

Swedish power company Vattenfall and compatriot electric ferry propulsion systems and marine consultancy platform Echandia Marine cooperate on electric ferry with superfast charging.Vattenfall and Echandia Marine have developed a new solution for electric ferries that is designed to minimise emissions and noise and at the same time lower operational and maintenance costs and provide superfast charging.The systems are installed on E/S Movitz that operates in central Stockholm and can be fully charged within 10 minutes with up to 500 kW charging power.The companies have together developed a new concept that can contribute to a more sustainable…

The Port of Dunkerque, France's biggest harbour on the North Sea in terms of the total traffic throughput, is continuing to develop its combined transport plan with the implementation of the Flandres Express (FLEX) rail service to the East of France.Created in 2013, Nord Port Shuttle (NPS), has gradually developed a network of containerized river services between Dunkerque and the main inland ports of the Hauts-de-France Region.With the setting-up of a rail service between Dunkerque and Metz, the operator has integrated a new mode of high-volume transport into its services accessing a major economic area.The FLEX service will offer a weekly round trip during the start-up phase with Metz…

Tallink Grupp, the largest passenger and cargo shipping company in the Baltic Sea region, and Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) signed the contract for the construction of a new LNG-powered fast ferry for the Tallinn – Helsinki route shuttle operations.Similarl to the group’s newest vessel Megastar, the new shuttle ferry will also be dual fuel operated, its overall length will be approximately 212 meters and with a passenger capacity of 2,800, said a press release from the Estonian shipping company operating Baltic Sea cruiseferries and RoPax ships from Estonia to Finland.The vessel will cost approximately 250 million euros and it will be built at the Rauma shipyard in Finland…

Kongstein, the European service provider focused at offshore engineering and maritime logistics, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with U.S.-based Green Shipping Line to provide a complete offshore wind farm supply solution in the United States.Per the MoU, the solution provided will include consultancy services, a U.S. Jones Act compliant shuttle service as well as development opportunities at several U.S. ports."We are thrilled to be working with Kongstein – they are the best in the business in wind farm logistics and forward, creative thinking for complex issues," said Percy R. Pyne IV, Chairman of Green Shipping Line (GSL). "Together we will create a complete, viable and economic solution for United States-based wind farms.

While debates rage in regards to safety, insurance and cyber security, the tech powering autonomous maritime operations continues to power ahead.Advances in sensor technology, data analytics and bandwidth-to-shore are fundamentally changing the way shipping works. And as operations are digitalized, they become more automated, Dr. Pierre C. Sames, Director of Group Technology & Research at class society DNV GL, has stated.Governments around the world are looking into unmanned shipping…

Contargo AG has launched a new rail shuttle service to the German town of Weil am Rhein on the Swiss border. This creates a direct connection between the port of Rotterdam and the important industrial areas around Basel. Three times a week, the container train travels from the DUSS Terminal in Weil am Rhein (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) to Rotterdam and vice versa (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays) in a mere 18 hours. In Rotterdam the shuttle will stop at the CTT Pernis Terminal. This terminal has an efficient connection with the container terminals at Maasvlakte via the PortShuttle service. The ‘Basel Westport Shuttle’ has a capacity of 88 TEU and carries both maritime and continental freight. The train is also used for tank cars and bulk cargo.

A Container-on-Barge service intended to be an integral part of the regional intermodal equation is gathering momentum – and customers. Quietly, the Port of New Orleans (NOLA) has marked some important accomplishments in the past two years, across multiple business sectors. For example, in April 2016, NOLA’s Board dedicated a $25 million Mississippi River intermodal terminal, capable of handling 160,000 twenty-foot-equivalent (TEU) units per year by rail. CN Railroad signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) a year earlier (2015)…

From 2019, Rolls-Royce Power Systems and the City of Constance public utility are to begin testing the marine propulsion technology of the future on Lake Constance. This takes the form of a gas engine carrying the MTU brand. The public utility's new car ferry is to be equipped with twin eight-cylinder Series 4000 gas engines from MTU, each delivering 746 kW. This makes it the first inland waterway passenger vessel in Europe to be propelled by straightforward high-speed gas engines. The fuel will be liquefied natural gas.

The members of THE Alliance announced a contingency plan in the event a member of THE Alliance suffers a bankruptcy. The five member lines Hapag Lloyd, K Line, Mitsui OSK Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Yang Ming will establish an independent trustee to manage funds to be used in the case there is insolvency within the group. It is envisioned that the fund will be used to continue alliance operations in the event of insolvency of one or more member lines. The independent trust fund shall safeguard that customers’ cargo on board of the affected members’ ships will be carried to the port of destination. “Customers’ reaction to the incident…

U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen visited the Port of Greater Baton Rouge’s container-on-barge operation Tuesday while delivering his personal congratulations on the recent awarding of a $1.75 million grant to the Baton Rouge port and the Port of New Orleans. The grant will be used to acquire specialized container loading equipment to increase efficiencies to the current container-on-barge shuttle service operated by SEACOR AMH between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has announced the launch of its sixth service, named SEQUOIA, from Asia to the U.S. West Coast.   The new trade provides a direct connections from South China to Long Beach, as well as a shuttle service from South China and transit time of 12 days from Ningbo to Long Beach.   The service will start operating from Chiwan on Friday, December 9, SAFMARINE MULANJE 649N.   The rotation will be: Chiwan, Yantian, Ningbo, Long Beach.

Fifty years ago, OMEGA Engineering, Inc. was a small privately held company that was woman owned and operated. Today it's a global manufacturer and supplier of process measurement and control products, operating out of brand new world headquarters. The move to the high-tech facility in Norwalk, Conn., represents a major transition for the firm, which for five decades had been headquartered in Stamford, Conn. The move coincides with the recent appointment of Joe Vorih as President. These developments are ushering in a new era for the firm—an era that's deeply rooted in OMEGA's history. OMEGA Engineering founder Betty Ruth Hollander, a mother of four children, started the firm at her kitchen table in 1962.

The members of THE Alliance announced the details of the plan for their product starting from April 2017. THE Alliance plans to deploy a fleet of more than 240 modern ships in the Asia /Europe, North Atlantic and Trans-Pacific trade lanes including the Middle East and the Arabian Gulf/Red Sea. The start of THE Alliance as the most integrated liner shipping consortia is scheduled for April 2017 (subject to completion of all relevant regulatory requirements). “The product of THE Alliance is a milestone which will significantly improve the service offering for all shippers on the East West trade lanes“, said the member carriers Hapag-Lloyd, “K”Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Yang Ming in a statement.

Container Loading Equipment to Provide Greater Efficiencies for Container on Barge Service Between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The Port of New Orleans and the Port of Greater Baton Rouge will acquire specialized container loading equipment to increase efficiencies to the current container on barge shuttle service between Baton Rouge and New Orleans with a newly announced grant of $1,758,595 from the Maritime Administration (MARAD). "The container on barge shuttle service, operated by Seacor AMH…

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced $4.85 million in grants to six Marine Highway projects along the waterways of 17 states and the District of Columbia. The goal of the Maritime Administration’s Marine Highway Program is to expand the use of U.S. navigable waterways to relieve landside congestion, reduce air emissions and generate other public benefits by increasing the efficiency of the surface transportation system. “These grants will help us take advantage of the economic and environmental benefits of one of America’s most crucial transportation assets – our coastal and inland waterways,” Foxx said. The grants will help expand existing marine highway operations across New York Harbor…