Freight Services News

Ships sailing to the U.S. port of Baltimore dropped anchor in waters nearby while vessels were stranded inside the port after traffic was halted following a bridge collapse, shipping data showed on Tuesday.A 948-foot container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the port in darkness early on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.Port traffic was suspended until further notice, Maryland transportation authorities said.At least 13 vessels that were expected to load coal were anchored near to Baltimore port…

At least 10 commercial ships that were sailing to the U.S. port of Baltimore have dropped anchor in waters nearby, data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic showed on Tuesday.A container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the port on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.Port traffic was suspended until further notice, Maryland transportation authorities said.The vessels that anchored included container and bulk carrier ships that were signaling their destination as Baltimore…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced over $653 million to fund 41 port improvement projects across the nation under the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP).The investments—part of the largest dedicated funding for ports and waterways in history, nearly $17 billion through the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—are intended to help grow capacity and increase efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports and inland…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded nearly $12 million in grants to eight marine highway projects across the nation under the United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP). The funding will improve the movement of goods along our navigable waterways and expand existing waterborne freight services in Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, which will strengthen supply chains and ultimately cut costs for consumers.“Our country has always relied on American waterways to get vital goods where they need to go,” said U.S.

Danish shipping company NORDEN announced Friday it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Thorco Projects business, providing access to new customers within the general cargo segment such as break bulk, steels and wind energy.Denmark-based Thorco Projects, part of Thornico Group, has in recent years transformed into an asset light business operating a chartered fleet of 30-40 vessels, including mostly Handysize vessels, where NORDEN is a significant operator. The acquisition…

Finnlines will make major investments in its route between Sweden and mainland Finland via Åland during 2023 as the freight and passenger shipping company continues to bounce back from the pandemic slowdown.The company announced on Tuesday that it is introducing two new Superstar cargo-passenger vessels as part of general plans for increasing passenger comfort on the Kapellskär–Långnäs–Naantali route, with the first ro-pax vessel set to start operating on the route in autumn 2023.The new vessels Finnsirius and Finncanopus are part of Finnlines EUR 500 million investment program…

Russia's biggest oil exporter Rosneft has expanded its tanker chartering business to ease oil shipments for buyers amid looming Western sanctions on insurance of Russian oil shipments, three sources familiar with the matter said.Previously, state-controlled Rosneft, which produces more than 40% of Russian oil, would sell its oil at the port of loading, meaning the buyer would have to find tankers and handle freight and insurance costs for the voyage.But with new, tighter Western sanctions looming…

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…

Amazon.com Inc and IKEA are among commercial users of container shipping that will opt for zero-carbon marine fuels by 2040 in a new initiative aimed at speeding up decarbonization in the maritime sector, executives said on Tuesday.With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions and the sector is under growing scrutiny to become cleaner.The initiative, which was organized by the non-profit Aspen Institute and has nine signatories so far also including Unilever and Michelin…

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.

Two ferry operators on the English Channel on Tuesday announced a deal to make freight space on their Dover-Calais ships available to one another to maintain customer service levels on the route and ensure its continued resilience.Under the space charter agreement between P&O Ferries and DFDS, freight drivers can arrive at either the Port of Dover or Port of Calais and board the next available sailing, irrespective of whether the ferry is operated by either company.David Stretch…

Minerva Bunkering said it launched a new offering enabling customers to mitigate carbon emissions associated with the bunker fuel they consume. With each transaction, Minerva retires verified carbon offset certificates in an equal and offsetting amount to the emissions value of the bunker fuel as calculated per the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) published emissions factors.“Our global client base of ship owners and operators is increasingly seeking to reduce the emissions intensity of their operations as well as provide carbon-neutral freight services to their own customers.

The head of global trade association Interferry reflects on the unprecedented challenges of 2020 and those ahead—but makes a case for cautious optimism.What a difference a year makes…In this column last January, I was hailing the worldwide ferry industry’s exceptional growth in 2019—marked by soaring tourist traffic and a host of newbuild orders—and eagerly anticipating further advances in 2020. None of us could have known that within a matter of weeks, all expectations were to…

Firefighters have brought a large fire at the southern Irish port of Cork under control and no casualties were reported, the port authority, which recently started offering more "Brexit-proof" direct sailings to mainland Europe, said on Saturday.The blaze began in a grain store at a deepwater berth used for freight services, the port authority said shortly after 0930 GMT, urging local residents to keep all doors and windows shut and remain indoors.It said just over an hour later that the fire was under control."Emergency services remain on site to monitor the area.

Stena Embla, the third E-Flexer ferry to be commissioned for Stena Line’s Irish Sea routes in the last 12 months, recently arrived in Belfast. Touted by the owner as "three of the most modern ferries in the world," Stena Embla join her sister ship on the popular Belfast – Liverpool route later this month. Stena Embla has the capacity to carry 1,000 passengers, 120 cars and 3,100 lane metres of freight. This will provide a significant 20% increase in freight capacity for the route…

Ferry firm Stena Line has brought forward a planned doubling of its direct Ireland to France freight service in response to “huge demand” from Irish hauliers hit by the closure of the French border to arrivals from Britain.While freight services were exempt from Ireland’s ban on Sunday on travel to Britain over fears of a new coronavirus strain, around 3,000 lorries take the shorter route to mainland Europe via the so-called British “land-bridge” each week.Stena had planned to add a second ship to its service from Ireland’s Rosslare harbor to the French port of Cherbourg from Jan.

Several months ago, Avalon Freight Services (AFS) approached Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) to explore different keel options to improve the directional stability of its landing craft, Catalina Provider.EBDG's team of engineers worked closely with AFS leadership to understand the vessel's particulars, operation and route, detailed project objectives and determine a project plan. Multiple keel designs were considered as viable options for the 150-foot landing craft. EBDG then…

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…

Ship owners are postponing or canceling the installation of “scrubbers” that extract harmful sulphur emissions from their vessels as the coronavirus pandemic tightens finances.Regulations from United Nations agency the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which took effect in January, were viewed by the oil and shipping industries as one of the first worldwide efforts to enforce environmental change.The rules aimed to make ships use fuel with a sulphur content of 0.5%, compared with 3.5% previously. Operators had the alternative option to install devices - scrubbers - to strip out the pollutant, which causes lung problems among humans and contributes to acidification of oceans and acid rain…

Clandestine migration has been a problem for the transport sector across Europe for some time now. While more stringent border crossing checks have been imposed due to the current COVID-19 crisis, the risk to operators is not diminished. Furthermore, as the restrictions on movement begin to ease migration activity could be set to escalate warns international freight insurer TT Club.The smuggling of people has become a major issue in certain parts of the world. Political imperatives in target countries have led to stricter immigration restrictions and increased government action.

Ferry routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been safeguarded, thanks to a multimillion-pound government scheme to help ensure critical freight can continue to move into and across the union.The package, worth up to £17 million ($21 million), is being funded by the U.K. government and the Northern Ireland Executive and will be made available to operators so that they can continue running freight services on five sea routes between Great Britain and Northern Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic.Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced further funding…

Finnish cruise ferry operator Viking Line announced Monday it will continue service on its "most important" routes despite concerns about the coronavirus outbreak."Taking the security of supply for Finland and Åland as well as the cargo transport demands into consideration, we continue freight traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn as well as on the Turku–Åland–Stockholm route," it said in a statement.“To safeguard the security of supply between Finland and Sweden, we are maintaining service on part of our routes.

Neptune Pacific Line, the provider of ocean freight services between Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, said that it has acquired Pacific Direct Line(PDL) from its Singapore based parent holding company, Pacific International Lines (PIL).The acquisition makes Neptune the new owners of all of PDL’s regional and Fiji based companies. The combined business will seamlessly link transport, warehousing, depots and customs clearance services and fully integrate customers’ supply chains across 18 South Pacific markets, it said in a press note."This purchase supports our long-term vision of creating the strongest and best regional network of shipping and logistics services in the Pacific Islands…