Dunkirk News

Starting in September, DFDS will offer seven weekly roundtrips on the Rosslare-Dunkirk route by adding a third vessel to the route to provide increased capacity for freight operators and more travel options for passengers during the holiday season.Growing demand for direct transport links between Ireland and continental Europe continues to drive the need for additional capacity. To meet this demand, DFDS is expanding its schedule to offer a total of seven weekly roundtrips, providing greater flexibility for freight hauliers and more travel options for holidaymakers seeking convenient…

An LNG carrier managed by NYK LNG Shipmanagement rescued 11 Portuguese fishers in the Atlantic Ocean on June 22.While en route to the port of Dunkirk in France, the vessel received a distress call from a fishing boat that had sustained hull damage. The LNG carrier immediately headed to the scene and rescued all 11 individuals on board.They are reported to be in good health and are scheduled to disembark at Dunkirk port around June 26.

The final inter-array cable has been installed at Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier (EMYN) offshore wind farm in France, being developed by Les Éoliennes en Mer Services.The 61st and final inter-array cable was installed on June 22 at the EMYN offshore wind farm, Louis Dreyfus TravOcean said on social media.The accomplishment paves the way for a transmission capacity of 512 MW.Geoquip Marine’s Geoquip Elena, converted into a Cable Laying Vessel (CLV) with a bespoke project-specific deck layout used in the operation…

AMBPR, a SERCEL company, announced that it has signed a contract with Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque for the sale of the first five ship repair robots. Damen in Dunkerque is thus the first shipyard in the world to acquire the GreenDock Robot, an autonomous solution for washing, UHP and abrasive blast cleaning, and painting of ships.The official signing took place at the SMM trade fair in Hamburg on September 4 following several years of collaboration between the robot manufacturer and DSDu…

DFDS said it will invest $1.2 billion in six battery electric vessels for operation in the English Channel, to be deployed on the Dunkirk-Dover and Calais-Dover routes to carry passengers and freight between the U.K. and the European Union.The first two electric vessels will be in operation by 2030, while the rest are expected to follow before 2035, the company said.“This is an important step towards decarbonizing cross-Channel transport," said Torben Carlsen, CEO of DFDS.In April…

Shipments of refined products from French refinery and depots were blocked on Monday by a 13th day of strike action, though some refineries operated with a reduced flow, a company spokesperson said.The industrial action is part of a nationwide movement against pension system changes that lift the retirement age two years to 64. The changes were forced through parliament without a vote last week.There is an increasing expectation of diesel supply shortages in France and Europe as a result of the strike-caused outages…

Disruption at the Dunkirk liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal operated by Fluxys ended on Friday morning, a company spokesperson said, with shipping data showing a tanker carrying LNG from Russia has docked at the site.Operations at the terminal have been disrupted since March 6 by strike action against the French government's planned pension changes, which President Emmanuel Macron decided to push through without a vote Thursday, causing violent unrest overnight.Refinitiv data showed the ship Fedor Litke, carrying 160,000 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG from Yamal, Russia, had arrived at the terminal, the first since the strike action began."We have resumed our activities…

A strike at Fluxys' liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Dunkirk, northern France, has been extended to Monday, a union official told Reuters.The strike, part of action against the government's plan to increase the state pension age, was most recently due to end on Friday.France's three other LNG terminals, operated by Engie subsidiary Elengy, are expected to be blocked until March 21.(Reuters - Reporting by Forrest Crellin; Editing by Mark Potter)

Nord Cereales, which runs France's third largest grain export silo at Dunkirk port, has shipped its biggest volume in over 10 years for the first five months of the season, it said on Friday, illustrating a fast pace of French exports. Between the start of this season on July 1 and the end of November, Nord Cereales exported more than 1.2 million tonnes of grain, it said. This is a turnaround after the silo operator recorded a 30% fall in exports to 1.6 million tonnes over the full 2021/22 season due to a disappointing harvest, the COVID-19 pandemic and renovation work, it said.

Japan will divert some liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to Europe after requests from the United States and the European Union, the industry minister said on Wednesday, a step that aligns the country with the West as tensions flare with Russia.Concern has mounted over the possible disruption of supplies from Russia, Europe's biggest gas provider, following the buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine and heightened tensions between Moscow and the West.The extra shipments are expected to arrive next month, minister Koichi Hagiuda told reporters."We have decided to respond to requests from the United States and EU for sending LNG to Europe, where gas supply is tight," Hagiuda said after separately meeting with the U.S.

French energy group Total said Monday it had realized the first ship-to-containership Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) bunkering operation in France. The world’s largest LNG bunker vessel in operation, Total’s Gas Agility, completed on Friday evening, April 30th, at the Port of Dunkirk the refueling of the world’s largest containership powered by LNG, the CMA CGM Jacques Saade, with around 16,400m3 of LNG.This inaugural operation also marks Dunkerque LNG terminal’s first loading of…

Bureau Veritas (BV) said it deployed its artificial intelligence (AI) solution in real survey conditions for corrosion detection during a hull inspection of a water ballast tank on a bulk carrier by an aerial drone. The test was conducted in partnership with the RIT operator, MaDfly Marine Drone Services Ltd, in Dunkirk, France.During the hull inspection, the BV solution supported the surveyor during his general visual inspection and close-up survey of the hull by providing results on the video in real-time.

In just over a week Hydrex diver/technicians traveled to Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and France to assist shipowners with damaged propeller blades. On two bulkers the blades were cropped while on a third bulker and a general cargo vessel the bent blades could be straightened.In all cases the best solution was offered to the customer to restore the propeller’s efficiency as close to the original condition as possible.One of the propeller blades of a 180-meter bulker was severely bent. A fast, on-site solution to restore the propeller’s balance and efficiency was needed.

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…

One of the world's top container shipping companies said it is ramping up its capacity between Asia and Europe in response to unprecedented demand.The French-based CMA CGM Group said Monday it has accelerated the redeployment of its capacity, increasing tonnage assigned to lines between Asia and Europe by 6% for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the same period of 2019. It will also make further additions in the first quarter of 2021, when capacity will be 10% higher than in the current quarter.The Asia-Europe trade will be serviced by CMA CGM's new class of nine 9 23…

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.

The world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered containership, CMA CGM Jacques Saade, has set a new world record for the most full containers loaded on a single vessel.On her Monday departure from Singapore, the CMA CGM Group’s new flagship was carrying a record 20,723 full containers, according to French shipping company CMA CGM.After joining CMA CGM’s fleet in September, the new record-breaking containership is now on her maiden voyage on the CMA CGM Group’s French Asia Line (FAL 1), connecting Asia with Europe.

The world's largest containership to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) has officially joined the fleet of French container shipping group CMA CGM, during a digital naming ceremony at CSSC’s shipyard in Shanghai.CMA CGM Group’s new flagship, CMA CGM Jacques Saadé, named after the group's founder, is the lead vessel in a series of nine LNG-powered, 23,000 TEU containerships ordered in 2017.Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM Group’s chairman and CEO, announced in November 2017 that the vessels would be equipped with LNG-powered engines…

French container line CMA CGM announced that its ship APL Singapura has inaugurated the cold ironing facilities of the Terminal des Flandres in the Port of Dunkirk.By plugging into an onshore electricity supply (also known as "cold ironing"), container ships calling at port can shut down their auxiliary engines while still getting the power they need, particularly in order to maintain controlled temperatures in refrigerated containers (Reefers).This innovative technology has significant environmental benefits, including: Zero emissions of sulfur and nitrogen oxides and fine particles while ships are at berth, and significantly reduced noise pollution.The cold ironing system installed at the Terminal des Flandres will become fully operational during the first half of 2020.

French coastguards rescued 31 migrants trying to cross the English Channel overnight after the engine of one small boat cut out and the other dinghy began to take in water, local authorities in France said on Sunday.Border and coast guards in Britain and France have recently intercepted several attempted crossings, including on Dec. 26 when 49 suspected migrants were escorted to British shores after a rescue and search operation.In the early hours of Sunday, French coast guards picked up 11 migrants, including two young children, in one boat off the coast near the port city of Calais.Another 20, including a pregnant woman, were later rescued by the same patrol boat further along the French coast near Dunkirk, the local authorities said in a statement.

A vessel was loading wheat for export to China at the northern French port of Dunkirk on Monday, according to shipping sources and data, in what would be the first such shipment since last year.The Sotka bulk carrier was due to load around 57,000 tonnes of grain destined for the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, port data showed.The cereal being loaded was wheat, shipping sources said.France has in recent years exported large volumes of barley to China but wheat shipments to China are rare.The current loading would be the first since late 2018, which was at the time the first French wheat sh

A consortium of 11 European stakeholders including ArcelorMittal, Axens, IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN) and Total, launched a project to demonstrate an innovative process for capturing CO2 from industrial activities named the DMX project.It is part of a more comprehensive study dedicated to the development of the future European Dunkirk North Sea capture and storage cluster.The “3D” project (for DMXTM Demonstration in Dunkirk) is part of Horizon 2020, the European Union’s research and innovation program.The project has a 19.3 million euro budget over 4 years, including 14.8 million euros in European Union subsidies. Coordinated by IFPEN…

Recently Hydrex carried out six stern tube seal operations all across Europe in a very short time span.Here is a review of two of the repairs: In Flushing the four damaged seals of a 268-meter container vessel were replaced underwater with our flexible mobdock technique. In Antwerp a seal operation was performed on a trimmed 185-meter general cargo ship. Both repairs were carried out in cooperation with the OEM.Repair in stages to fit the ship’s scheduleBecause the container vessel had a very tight schedule, Hydrex proposed to carry out preparatory work during an earlier stop in Dunkirk.