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Continental Europe News

09 Mar 2022

Neptune to Deliver Spreader Pontoon for Femern

(Image: Neptune Marine)

The Netherlands-based Neptune Marine said it has been contracted to delivery a new spreader pontoon for Femern Link Contractors (FLC). Delivery is scheduled the second quarter of 2023.FLC, a joint venture in charge of the design and construction of a new immersed tunnel between Denmark and Germany, will use the vessel for the tunnel construction. Its main function will be back fulling of the tunnel elements with sand. The vessel accommodates up to 30 persons.The Fehmarnbelt Fixed


26 Nov 2021

French Fishermen Block British boat off St Malo Amid Fishing Licenses Row

French fishermen blocked a British cargo vessel from docking in a Brittany port on Friday, in protest at what they say are moves by authorities in London and Jersey to withhold licenses to fish in British waters under a post-Brexit deal.The fishermen held aloft red flares as they circled their boats outside Saint-Malo to block the Normandy Trader's path - a prelude to a planned blockade later on Friday of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, both major transport hubs for trade between Britain and continental Europe.The one-hour Saint-Malo protest and the larger action further east along France's coast risk reigniting a dispute between the


04 Nov 2021

UK's Peel Ports Pushes to Be Net Zero of Carbon Emissions by 2040

(Photo: Peel Ports)

Leading British ports operator Peel Ports aims to become net zero of carbon emissions at all its operations by 2040 and is exploring hydrogen fuel solutions for some of its energy needs, the private group's chief executive said.Britain has said it is committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, and finance minister Rishi Sunak told companies this week to set out plans by 2023 for a transition to a low-carbon economy.Mark Whitworth, CEO of Liverpool-headquartered Peel Ports


29 Jun 2021

A Freight Forwarder Is Using Drones to Beat Backed Up Supply Chains

© anekoho / Adobe Stock

Leading German freight forwarder Hellmann will start using unmanned planes operated by Bulgaria's Dronamics from next year to speed up deliveries of vital goods in Europe and work around stretched supply chains, executives involved say.Global disruptions due to COVID, reduced air activity and major congestion at ports due in part to backed up container ships have upended logistics networks over the past year with companies looking for ways to ease pressure.Hellmann Worldwide Logistics said using drone planes developed by Dronamics was "a real game changer"."At the moment we are seeing a lot of

27 May 2021

Samskip Boosts Amsterdam-Ireland Service

(Photo: Samskip)

Samskip has responded to growing demand for its recently launched weekly container service between Dublin and Amsterdam by introducing a larger, faster ship and adding a call at Port of Waterford. The expansion comes less than five months after the debut of Amsterdam as a service separate from Samskip’s Rotterdam-Ireland links. “We have experienced strong uptake for the direct route into Amsterdam’s network of rail, road and barge connections to major EU markets,” said Thijs Goumans, Head of Ireland Trade, Samskip.

14 May 2021

Keel Laid for Finnlines’ Second Hybrid RoRo Ship

 The construction of the Finneco II is progressing and the first keel-block of the new vessel was laid into the shipyard’s dry dock. (Photo: Finnlines)

The Nanjing Jinling shipyard in China has laid the keel for the second of three new hybrid ro-ro vessels it is building for Finnlines.The construction of MS Finneco II is proceeding, and the keel laying ceremony was held on May 12, Finnlines said.The vessel is part of Finnlines’ €500 million ($607 million) newbuilding program which includes two eco-sustainable ro-pax vessels in addition to the three hybrid ro-ro vessels.“Finnlines has made major investments in renewing and developing its fleet into more sustainable, using the latest technologies and green innovations available.

26 Apr 2021

Finnlines' First New Hybrid RoRo Launched

(Photo: Finnlines)

Finnlines’ first of three new hybrid ro-ro vessels was launched at the Nanjing Jinling Shipyard in China on Monday. The vessel, Finneco I, will start sailing on the Finnish shipping company’s Biscay–North Sea–Baltic Sea service at the turn of the year. The series’ second and third vessels, Finneco II and Finneco III, will be delivered in 2022.The new vessels are 238 meters long with a cargo capacity of 5,800 lane meters. Additionally, car decks have a capacity of 5,800 square meters and about 520 TEU on the weather deck.

22 Jan 2021

After Brexit, Ireland and France cut Out the Middleman: Britain

© Andy Chisholm / Adobe Stock

From his office overlooking Cherbourg docks, general manager Yannick Millet points to trailers destined for Ireland that belong to Amazon and FedEx, new customers and a signal of a potential big shift in post-Brexit trade.Confronted by red tape and delays after Britain’s messy exit from the European Union, Irish traders are shipping goods directly to and from European ports, shunning the once-speedier route through Britain.“You see the shift in supply chains right here,” he said.All five operators connecting Ireland to mainland Europe have increased ferry services in the past nine months


08 Dec 2020

France's Next-generation Aircraft Carrier Will Be Nuclear-powered

(Image: Naval Group)

France's next-generation aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered and replace the national fleet's flagship warship, the Charles de Gaulle, in 2038, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.The 11th carrier-vessel in the French Navy's history will be built by French defense contractor Naval Group and equipped with the new electromagnetic aircraft launch system developed by U.S. company General Atomics, French officials said.The carrier will be 300 meters long and have a deadweight of 75,000 tons.

27 Nov 2020

DFDS Launches New Freight Ferry Route Between Ireland and France

Illustration only - A DFDS vessel/Credit: penofoto.de/AdobeStock

Danish international shipping and logistics firm DFDS is setting up a new freight ferry route between Ireland and France, "to facilitate trade between Ireland and continental Europe."From January 2, 2021, the new freight ferry route between Rosslare in Ireland and Dunkirk in Northern France will offer trucks and their drivers direct and paperless transport between EU countries, avoiding the paperwork hassle that Brexit may bring.The port of Dunkirk is a gateway to Ireland’s top export markets – France, Belgium, Germany, and Netherlands – and a host of secondary markets.

29 May 2020

Final Windfloat Atlantic Floating Wind Turbine Heads Offshore

Credit: Bourbon Subsea Services

The third - and final - floating wind turbine has been towed offshore as part of the Windfloat Atlantic project, located 20 km from Viana do Castelo on the Portuguese coast. The project, dubbed the first floating offshore wind farm in continental Europe, is operated by the Windplus consortium, consisting of EDP Renováveis (54.4%), Engie (25%), Repsol (19.4%) and Principle Power Inc. (1.2%). Bourbon Subsea Services is responsible for the towing and the connection of the 8.4 MW floating wind turbine supplied by MHI Vestas.With the support of three vessels (the Bourbon Orca AHTS


29 Jan 2020

Driverless Trucks to Dominate UK Ferry Traffic

Driver-less heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will be to ship freight between the UK and continental Europe in the future, according to a new white paper published by the British Ports Association (BPA) and the specialist freight transport consultancy MDS Transmodal.Commercial and environmental pressures will encourage freight operators to look at autonomous trucks and they would transform the way the ro-ro market works in Great Britain."Changes anticipated include significant growth in the market share of ‘driverless accompanied’ RORO traffic – particularly through North Sea and Western English Channel ports," it said.Technical developments


31 Dec 2019

WindFloat Atlantic Platform Heads Offshore

The second of the three platforms for the WindFloat Atlantic project has left the Port of Ferrol for its final destination 20 kilometers offshore Viana do Castelo, Portugal.Upon arrival to the project site, it will be installed next to the first floating platform, which has the exact same dimensions: 30 meters in height and with a 50-meter distance between each column. The third and final platform, once it arrives to the site, will complete the first floating offshore wind farm in Continental Europe.Transportation of the three WindFloat Atlantic floating structures is a milestone in itself, as it sidesteps the need for towing craft designed specifically for this process and makes it possible for the project to be replicated in other geographies.The structure


02 Dec 2019

Ørsted Restructures Offshore Biz

The offshore wind giant Ørsted has introduced a new operating model for the Offshore business, to support the execution of its project pipeline and future growth."The global market opportunities in renewables continue to expand and present significant opportunities for growth. In 2019, Ørsted expanded into Taiwan and the US with the award of significant projects," the largest energy company in Denmark said.The new operating model creates a more scalable organisation for Ørsted’s international expansion which combines market proximity with global scale and efficiency.Ørsted’s Offshore business will be organised in four regions. Each region will be responsible for market and project development as well as asset management


20 Sep 2019

Saudi Attacks, High Demand Leaves U.S. Short on Oil Tankers

© Carabay / Adobe Stock

A disruption in global oil flows following attacks on Saudi Arabian facilities has left U.S. crude exporters without enough tankers to cover rising demand for cargoes, traders and shipping sources said.Missile attacks last Saturday temporarily cut Saudi oil production by more than 5 million barrels per day, or about half the country's output.That set off a scramble for alternative cargoes of crude, particularly in the United States, which lined up available tankers sailing from the Mediterranean, West Africa and continental Europe to pick up cargoes.

10 Sep 2019

DFDS, Moby in Ferry Swap Deal

Copenhagen headquartered ferry and logistics company DFDS has reached an agreement with the Italian ferry company Moby to acquire its the two combined freight and passenger ferries (RoPax).The Danish company decided to purchase the ships, the 2001-built Moby Wonder and the 2005-built Moby Aki, in order to expand capacity on the Amsterdam-Newcastle route.Moby will in turn acquire the two passenger ferries currently operating on Amsterdam-Newcastle — King Seaways and Princess Seaways, built in 1987 and 1986, respectively.“The new ferries are ideally suited for our Amsterdam-Newcastle route. Their modern onboard facilities and higher car-deck capacity will allow us to grow revenue by fulfilling the growing demand from high-yield car passengers.

20 Jun 2019

DNV GL Wins Baltic Pipe Project

The international oil & gas advisory and classification society DNV GL has won a major contract to provide independent verification services for the Danish transmission system operator Energinet’s section of the Baltic Pipe project, offshore Denmark.The Baltic Pipe project aims to enable the transport of gas from Norway from a tie-in to the existing Europipe II in the Danish North Sea to the export facility in Zealand. The pipeline in the Baltic Sea towards Poland is not included in the contract. The Baltic Pipe project is planned to be fully operational by 1 October 2022.DNV GL’s contract scope includes independent verification and submarine pipeline certification to the DNV GL certification regime DNVGL-SE-0475.

10 May 2019

Nieuw Statendam's Maiden Call in Amsterdam

The newest cruise ship in the Holland America Line fleet, the Nieuw Statendam, made its maiden call to the port of Amsterdam on Sunday, 5 May 2019.The second Pinnacle Class ship moored at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam (PTA) and was welcomed with a water salute by Port of Amsterdam. Amsterdam will be the ship’s home port during the upcoming summer season.This was the maiden call for the ship that was christened by Oprah Winfrey in Ft. Lauderdale last February. A cruise ship’s maiden call to a port is traditionally accompanied by a plaque & key ceremony.Alma Prins-Droog, Commercial Manager Cruise at Port of Amsterdam, presented Captain Sybe de Boer with the port of Amsterdam coat of arms.

24 Jan 2019

Svitzer Appoints Jeeninga, McKeating as Cluster Managers

Fred Jeeninga, Cluster Managing Director, Continental Europe (Photo: Svitzer)

Svitzer, aprovider of harbor and terminal towage to the global shipping industry, has recently appointed Fred Jeeninga as Cluster Managing Director, Continental Europe (Netherlands, Belgium, Georgia) and Maurice McKeating as Cluster Managing Director, UK South.Fred Jeeninga holds nearly 20 years of experience from the marine service industry. His work has taken him to Russia, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, and the Caribbean. He has been with Svitzer since 2009, most recently as Operations


24 Jan 2019

Shipbuilding; Irish Ferries to Build Two Vessels

The European Investment Bank is providing EUR 155 million to finance two new passenger and vehicle ships for the Irish Continental Group (ICG) subsidiary Irish Ferries.The two ferries will increase passenger and cargo capacity on routes to Ireland, replace older and smaller vessels and significantly reduce emissions from the Irish Ferries fleet.The new ferries are expected to be used on both the Dublin-Holyhead and Dublin-Cherbourg routes to reflect demand for a greater choice of services from Ireland to Britain and direct to continental Europe.The announcement was made as the W.B. Yeats cruise ferry made its maiden commercial voyage from Dublin to Holyhead this morning.The largest ever EIB support for Irish shipping was announced during a visit this morning by Andrew McDowell


19 Dec 2018

Maersk Moves North-East England Coverage to Hull

A.P. Moller - Maersk, an integrated container logistics company, announced that it is moving its  North-East England coverage from Immingham to Hull.The existing connection between Immingham and continental Europe, will change to Hull, enabling better accessibility for local shippers and offering convenient connection with mainline services."Starting January 12th, 2019, the short sea service, operated by BG Freight and currently calling Immingham, will be moved to Hull Container Terminal in East Yorkshire, also operated by Associated British Ports," said a press release from the Danish shipper.“We are very pleased with the feedback received from our customers


21 Sep 2018

Norway's Gas Exports Set to Match Annual Record

Emden terminal (Photo: Gassco)

Norway's gas exports hit a new high of 36.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) this summer and the annual deliveries will be on a par with the record annual figure achieved in 2017, gas system operator Gassco said on Friday.Between May and August, which is normally a season with fewer gas exports, Norway's deliveries almost matched a normal winter level as European importers needed to refill depleted gas storages which drained during last year's cold winter."It's too early to say exactly where we'll end up this year


06 Sep 2018

Antwerp Port: Brexit Ready

The UK is the third-largest maritime trading partner for the port of Antwerp. In order to be fully prepared for Brexit the Port Authority is taking various initiatives including the appointment of a new representative for the UK and Ireland. Justin Atkin has assumed this role as of 1 September 2018.With an annual freight volume of around 15 million tonnes the UK is the port of Antwerp's largest maritime trading partner after the USA and Russia. Antwerp is also ideally situated as an investment location close to the European centres of decision-making, and as the gateway to Europe from where the continent can be served quickly and efficiently