Feeder Services News

U.S.-based Crowley and Danish shipping company ESVAGT are teaming up to build and operate purpose-built, Jones Act vessels to support the emerging U.S. offshore wind energy market.As the U.S. offshore wind industry continues to gain momentum at pace, a large number of Jones Act compliant vessels will be needed to build, service and eventually decommission America's significant pipeline of to-be-developed offshore wind farms. The joint venture (JV) between Crowley and ESVAGT announced Tuesday brings together two leading maritime solutions providers to help address the current vessel shortage.

Abu Dhabi Ports has established a new feeder services company, SAFEEN FEEDERS, to serve the group’s mainliner shipping clients in the Gulf region.SAFEEN FEEDERS will introduce a new feeder service linking Abu Dhabi to ports serving the UAE, the broader Gulf region and Indian Sub-Continent. The service will be executed in partnership with feeder service operator Bengal Tiger Line (BTL) through a vessel sharing agreement.The service will allow for exchange of container cargo between mainliner vessels and the vessels within the rotation calling at nine regional ports located across the UAE…

Germany's largest port, the Port of Hamburg not expecting reduction in container throughput caused by liner service changes announced by Ocean Alliance and Maersk.From April, the Ocean Alliance NEU 5 service handled by EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg – CTH is being transferred to Antwerp, said a press release from the a sea port on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, 110 kilometres from its mouth on the North Sea."This service will be run by the Ocean Alliance Partner, CMA CGM as FAL 3 with an approximate annual volume of 150,000 TEU," it said.Going forward, according to CMA CGM, the entire container volume carried until now to and from Hamburg by this service will be handled by the five Ocean Alliance liner services continuing to call in Hamburg.

Dubai-based global ports operator DP World has taken a 44% stake in Frenkendorf-headquartered Swissterminal Holding, the container terminal operator in Switzerland.The parties have agreed not to disclose financial details of the transaction.Swissterminal, which is headquartered in Frenkendorf close to Basel, operates additional locations in Zurich-Niederglatt, Basel-Birsfelden, Basel-Kleinhueningen and Liestal. The terminals are well connected to Europe’s leading container ports in Rotterdam and Antwerp as well as the ports of La Spezia, Genoa, Ravenna and Trieste south of the Alps.DP World has grown from its roots in Jebel Ali Port…

CMA CGM's Containerships has announced delivery of its fourth container ship powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG), the 1,380-TEU Containerships Arctic.After the introduction of its three sister ships, the CMA CGM Group took delivery of the Containerships Arctic, on December 10th, 2019. Once it will have made its way from Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard to Europe, the vessel’s first LNG bunkering will be carried out in Rotterdam. There, it will fuel an approximate of 200 metric tons…

Germany’s largest universal port, the Port of Hamburg, reported a container throughput of 7 million TEUs for the first three quarters of this year, representing a growth of 6.9 percent year-over-year.The climb in container handling is primarily attributable to the four new transatlantic services, plus four new Baltic feeder services. Since the beginning of the year, the new transatlantic services operated by Hapag-Lloyd and ONE have connected Hamburg with ports in the USA, Canada and Mexico.Hamburg regained market share up of 0.7 percentage points in competition with other major container ports, whose growth averaged 3.4 percent. The excellent container handling trend in the rail segment also boosted seaport-hinterland services.Transporting 2.1 million TEU in the first nine months…

Chinese state-owned shipping and logistics services supplier company COSCO Shipping Lines announced a new COSCO feeder service from St Petersburg, Russia will begin calling at DP World Southampton."COSCO is to introduce a new weekly call at DP World Southampton, as part of a rotation including St Petersburg, Russia; Kotka, Finland; Southampton, UK; and Rotterdam, Netherlands," said a press release.The news comes after COSCO confirmed in February that DP World Southampton will be a permanent call on its feeder service. The MV Alexander B operated by COSCO shipping, is scheduled to call at DP World Southampton on 27th March.“Traditionally it is the ports on the east coast of the UK that serve Russia and the Baltics.

Shipping group CMA CGM has reinforced its Europe / Indian Ocean & Australia offering by upgrading its NEMO service, which liaises North Europe and the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean Islands and Australia on the southbound leg and Australia to southeast Asia and Europe on the northbound leg.This upgraded service will be effective in September 2019 and operated in partnership with MSC, subject to applicable filing requirements.CMA CGM said the new offer will feature an upgraded fleet and provide expanded port coverage through a better utilization of hubs offering dedicated feeder services.

Middle East's maritime and logistics company Milaha (Qatar Navigation) will start a direct container shipping service connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean in its first foray into Europe.According to a press release from the Qatar-based maritime transport and logistics conglomerate the new feeder service marks Milaha’s first European service linking the Mediterranean and Black Sea. The BSX demonstrates Milaha’s commitment to deliver reliable and agile services to its customers and partners globally.The BSX rotation is Piraeus (Greece), Kumport (Istanbul), Poti (Georgia), Novorossiysk (Russia), Piraeus (Greece), and will initially be served by two ships with 1…

Spanish shipping and logistics company Pérez y Cía has agreed to acquire CFS Caribbean Feeder Services from the German shipping company Harren & Partner.A press release from CFS quoted Peter Harren, Founder and Managing Director of Harren & Partner as saying: "“I am very proud and pleased that we have reached this agreement. Pérez y Cía is a highly respected company known for its quality, expertise and experienced employees. It is the reliable long-term partner we were looking for. We believe that this acquisition will give CFS a very strong position for the future. CFS will continue to provide its excellent services and still operate as a separate brand.

Japan's Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Germany's Hapag-Lloyd have agreed to share space on their feeder services.As the first step, the cooperation will cover specific Intra-Europe (BAX, NBS, NPX, REX, SDX, ADX, LEX) and Intra-Asia (BHX, HAS, PID) feeder trade lanes. The carriers have already ushered in a new Intra-Asia service, the Bohai Feeder (BHX) in August and will further introduce a new Intra-Europe service, the North Sea Poland Express (NPX), in mid-October to further…

After a pattern of divergence at the start of the year, July saw a modest realignment between charter and freight markets as liner operators react to cost pressures and the wider industry awaits the impact of the potential trade war between the U.S. and China, according to the latest Container Shipping Forecaster from MSI.Following an impressive run since the end of 2017, timecharter earnings have leveled off in recent weeks, a slowdown that began with smaller feeder vessels and has now spread to larger units.

The provider of container shipping and global transportation services APL has announced that the Gulf Asia Express 2 (GA2) service will soon be calling the port of Umm Qasr.The CMA CGM=owned company said that the service will also make a second call to Jebel Ali during the return leg of its service rotation to Asia. These developments demonstrate APL’s commitment to continuously provide market connectivity between the Far East and Middle East.The enhanced GA2 service is primed to offer Asian shippers direct access to the Umm Qasr port in Iraq which is only accessible through feeder services via Jebel Ali currently.

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd is cutting costs to cope with a rise in fuel prices that led it to slash full year earnings forecasts last month, its chief executive told shareholders on Tuesday."Major cost positions have risen more than initially expected and are pressuring operating margins," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said in Hamburg."We are responding short-term to this development through forceful cost management and will keep Hapag-Lloyd competitive this way," he added.Among the measures being taken are accepting more valuable cargo…

German shipping line Hapag-Lloyd has stopped one of two feeder services to Iran and will decide on the remaining one before a Nov. 4 deadline imposed by the United States, which has reimposed sanctions on Tehran.Hamburg-based Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth largest container company, said it had initiated a process to stop handling products included in the list of commodities hit by U.S. sanctions, within the required wind down timeline.The group said it did not have any direct services handling Iran volumes of its own…

The world's top two container shipping groups Maersk Line and MSC are reviewing their Iran operations after the United States withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement with Tehran.The 2015 agreement, worked out by the United States, five other world powers and Iran, lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits to its nuclear program.U.S. President Donald Trump also instructed his administration to re-impose U.S. sanctions after a winding down period."MSC is reviewing its services…

St. Louis Regional Freightway, Port of Plaquemines and St. Louis Regional Ports Sign Agreement to Foster Economic Growth on the Mississippi River. The pact will help support development of a new transportation link for cargo to move along the Mississippi River. The St. Louis Regional Freightway, Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District located in the State of Louisiana and four ports in the St. Understanding (MOU) to establish and grow an alliance to generate new business by promoting international and inland trade routes at strategic locations along the Mississippi River. The agreement, which represents a five-year commitment, calls for joint marketing initiatives and exchange of data to further those goals. The agreement embodies the St.

Pacific International Lines (PIL), Singapore’s leading containership operator, announces two upgraded weekly services on the Far East – Red Sea service route. Done in collaboration with Ocean Alliance, the routes named RSS and RES will commence operations in March 2018, superseding the current three services RSS, RS3 and RS5. The route will be operated with a series of 17 x 11,000 to 14,000TEU vessels including its latest newbuilds, the 11,923TEU P Class in the service. The highly efficient and versatile P Class were purpose-built for Red Sea, with a ballast water treatment system fitted onboard and various energy saving measures implemented in its design. The enhanced Red Sea service will extensively cover North Asia and South East Asia with direct connections to the main Red Sea markets.

Qatar and container lines have launched new shipping services via Oman in an effort to sidestep a port ban in neighbouring countries and secure a food lifeline after other Gulf states severed ties with Doha last week. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and some other Arab countries cut diplomatic, travel and trade ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups, accusations Doha denies. The severing of air, sea and land transport links has closed crucial import routes for Qatar and its population of around 2.7 million people who are dependent on imports for most of their food needs. China's COSCO Shipping Lines Co Ltd, Taiwan's Evergreen and Hong Kong Kong's OOCL have suspended container services to and from Qatar.

Taiwan's Evergreen and Hong Kong's OOCL said on Wednesday they had suspended shipping services to Qatar after Arab countries severed diplomatic ties with the Gulf state and imposed port restrictions this week. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among those to have cut ties with Qatar over its alleged support for terrorism, an accusation Qatar vehemently denies. Qatar is dependent on imports for its basic needs, which are transported by land and sea. Container ships carry vital consumer supplies, including food. Fewer container services will also hurt Qatar's ability to trade. Evergreen, the world's no.6 container shipping line and OOCL, the world's no.

Maersk can no longer transport goods in or out of Qatar after Arab countries imposed restrictions on trade with the tiny Gulf state and the company is looking at alternative shipping routes. Shipping lines normally transship cargoes from the United Arab Emirates port of Jebel Ali to Qatar, which relies heavily on imports by sea and land. "We expect disruptions to our Qatar services. The situation is very fluid," the spokesman said, adding that Maersk would notify customers about alternative options as soon as possible. The spokesman said the company, which is the world's biggest container shipping line, was looking at other routes such as Oman.

French container shipping major CMA CGM has upgraded its SEAS1 and SEAS2 services, now providing two departures per week between Asia and the East Coast of South America. The group will thus provide two departures per week between Asia and the East Coast of South America, one of the best offers on the market. They will offer optimum port coverage across Asia (Northern, Central and Southern Chinan and South Korea and South East Asia) and South America (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay). From South America, CMA CGM will provide very competitive transit times, especially for the export of refrigerated goods from Brazil and Argentina, to Hong Kong, China and South Korea.

APL improved its performance in the first three months under the ownership of CMA CGM Group in a challenging market. APL’s 3Q 2016 volume rose almost 9.9% to 1.3 million TEUs (vs. 3Q 2015). This organic growth was driven by more than 20 co-operations on new and enhanced services with CMA CGM. APL has expanded its global network to better serve its customers, and increased its book of business. In 3Q 2016, APL saw its operating margin improve by 40.2% per FEU from the same period in the previous year. In addition, APL’s costs decreased by 15.7% per FEU year-on-year. This reflects the progress made in APL’s continuous cost savings efforts, as well as the significant operational synergies gained through its new parent company.