Liner Service News

The shipping industry's pledge to limit its carbon footprint may suffer a setback as the current Red Sea crisis prompts it to use more vessels and take longer routes to ensure the smooth sailing of global maritime trade.Iranian-backed Houthi militants' attacks on vessels passing through the southern Red Sea have choked trade through the Suez Canal, driving many container shipping companies to add 10-14 days to the voyages between Asia and Europe and add more vessels.The disruption…

Swire Projects, the projects and heavy lift shipping arm of Swire Shipping, has officially launched a dedicated semi liner service connecting East Asia with the West Coast of North America.Previously offered on an ad hoc basis, the service will provide enhanced cargo connectivity and support the growing demand for reliable breakbulk and project cargo transportation into the West Coast and a gateway to the interior of the Continent avoiding the need to route cargo via the Panama Canal.Swire Projects' semi liner service connects the base ports of Qingdao and Taicang in China and ports en route…

Swire Bulk said it will operate a new liner service between Southeast Asia and Europe from June 2022 in addition to its tramp services.The company said it will deploy one to two vessels on a monthly rotation into Europe, calling at Amamapare (Indonesia), Singapore, and Dahej (India) to load cargo before arriving in Huelva (Spain), Antwerp (Belgium) and Brunsbüttel (Germany) for discharge operations. Customers will also be able to request additional port calls at countries between Southeast Asia to Europe.Launched by Swire Bulk’s Parcelling division…

A Dutch shipping company has purchased its first sailing cargo vessel as it woks toward building a fleet to offer emissions-free transport and travel at sea.Jorne Langelaan, CEO and founder of EcoClipper Coöperatie U.A, signed ownership documents for the Dutch Klipper De Tukker. The vessel will require a retrofit and will begin providing trade and passenger travel under sail on the North Sea in the first half of 2022.De Tukker was built in 1912 and worked for many years as a coastal trader. In the 1980s it became a Dutch sail training vessel, known for its work with disadvantaged youth.

AAL Shipping has acquired two secondhand multipurpose heavy lift vessels, expanding its core fleet to 720,200 total deadweight (DWT).The 2010-built Pacific Action and 2009-built AAL Gladstone have both served in the AAL fleet in the past and are due to rejoin later this month – the former renamed this week, AAL Gibraltar. The G-Class vessels feature a total cargo intake of 35,705 cubic meters, four large cargo holds, three tweendecks and a maximum lift capacity of 240 tonnes.

Broward County’s Port Everglades has appointed Ricardo D. Charlton, BSME, FSO, as its new Director of Operations.Port Everglades is a self-supporting enterprise fund of Broward County, Fla., generating more than $170 million in revenues in fiscal year 2019 (October 1, 2018 – September 1, 2019) and is ranked among the nation’s leading container ports and a world leader in the cruise industry.As Director of Operations, Charlton will oversee a workforce of 95 encompassing the Division’s Harbormaster Office…

Longtime Maersk executive Jack Mahoney has been named president and CEO of Westwood Shipping Lines, Inc., a Puyallup, Wash. based independent conbulk liner carrier in the north Transpacific trade. He succeeds Guy Stephenson who is retiring after 13 years in the role. Stephenson will continue in a support role as Executive Advisor/General Counsel.Mahoney’s recent posts with Maersk include three years as President of Maersk in Canada and, more recently, he has been Vice President of the Automotive Industry in Florham Park…

SCF Marine Inc., a subsidiary of SEACOR Holdings Inc., announced that its container on barge service, operated by SEACOR AMH, is participating in a 12-month accredited U.S.-based carbon offset program starting June 2020.“Through this initiative, diesel carbon emissions from AMH’s container service and the St. Louis, Memphis and Port Allen terminals will be offset to achieve carbon neutrality, a benefit AMH is proud to extend to its direct and indirect customers,” said Rich Teubner…

Crowley Maritime Corp. has agreed a contract to install Fleet Xpress from satellite communications provider Inmarsat on a majority of its vessels.The 128-year old Florida-headquartered business owns, operates and manages a diverse fleet of close to 200 vessels, including conventional and dual fuel (LNG) containerships, tankers and articulated tug-barges, and ship assist and offshore services tugboats, and various other types of barges.The deal was signed following trials in Alaska on Aframax tanker…

Port of Hamburg welcomed the ‘AAL Kembla’ on her first call in Germany’s largest universal port. She berthed at C. Steinweg’s multi-purpose Süd-West-Terminal.AAL Shipping is deploying the heavy-lift/project cargo ship on its new monthly liner service connecting ports in Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia. The service is overseen by AAL’s Hamburg office, opened in 2012, which also offers tailormade tramp chartering shipping to all regions in the world. Built in 2011, the ‘AAL Kembla’ is one of the carrier’s second generation A-class multi-purpose, heavy-lift vessels. She is 193.81 meters long and 29.1 meters wide, with a draft of 9.2 meters. The vessel has four shipboard cranes and a maximum lift capacity of 700 tons.

The  global ocean transport operator AAL Shipping has launched a new Europe-Middle East/India-Asia Monthly Liner Service to serve the market’s multipurpose vessels (MPPs) and project heavy lift cargo transport requirements.The new service, which connects main ports between Europe, Middle East/India and Asia, harnesses AAL’s second generation 31,000-dwt mega-size A-Class fleet, renowned for its 40,000-cu m cargo intake capacity 700-tonne lift ability.The new liner service will follow a fixed route, with port call flexibility. Base ports will include Antwerp, Porto Marghera, Jebel Ali, Dammam, Mumbai, Singapore, Shanghai, Tianjin and Masan.

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.

SAL Heavy Lift, a carrier specializing in sea transport of heavy lift and project cargo,  announced that it will expand its fleet with three heavy lift vessels with 800t lifting capacity in early 2020.The three vessels - “MV Hanna”, “MV Klara” and “MV Lisa” - will come to serve breakbulk and heavy lift clients on world markets via SALs well known Semi-Liner Service, but will also potentially offer new service options.When the new year 2020 dawns, SAL will see its fleet expanding with three vessels - an addition that aims to strengthen its semi-liner service and underline SAL as a leading player in the heavy lift and project cargo segment.

Transhipment in the North Sea Canal Area of the seaports of Amsterdam, IJmuiden, Beverwijk and Zaanstad rose in the first half of 2019 to 54.1 million tonnes, an increase of 7%.According to the Netherlands seaport, this was the result of an increase in transhipment in the first six months of this year in the port of Amsterdam by 12.3% to 45.4 million tonnes – another record.In IJmuiden, transhipment fell by 12.3% to 8.5 million tonnes, Beverwijk recorded a 23% increase to 349,000 tonnes and in Zaanstad transhipment fell by 13.2% to 72,000 tonnes.The increase in Amsterdam in the first half of the year was caused by both liquid and dry bulk and containers. Liquid bulk transhipment rose by 10.6% to 25.9 million tonnes.

Höegh Autoliners’s RoRo services team in India handled transportation of the 28 meters long windmill blade from Ennore, India to Shanghai, China."Sensitive cargo such as windmill blades require white-glove treatment and experienced personnel to perform the operations. This customer chose Höegh’s RoRo services before conventional Lift On Lift Off operations because of its clear benefits for sensitive breakbulk cargo," international shipping company said in a press release.Atuldutt Sharma, Breakbulk Sales Manager, Hoegh Autoliners India said: "This can be compared to the cargo operations performed with a Lift On Lift Off vessel, where…

The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has announced the expansion of its market presence in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region’s maritime industry.The stronger presence will help the company gain deeper insights into market trends as well as customer needs in chemicals and logistics sectors in Singapore and the wider APAC region, said a press release from the logistics and transportation company.The expansion will also enable Bahri Logistics and Bahri Chemicals, two of five business units of the company, to market their offerings, acquire new clients, serve existing clients, and channelize the communications. Bahri has plans to expand the services of its other business units to the APAC region in the future.

German-based cargo container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd AG is launching a new liner service offering a direct connection between Turkey and the US East Coast.The Turkey North America East Coast (TNE) service will operate every nine days between the Turkish seaport of Marmara (Izmit, Istanbul and Gemlik) and the US ports of New York, Norfolk and Savannah, said a press release from the world's fifth largest container carrier in terms of vessel capacity.In addition, the service will also offer an excellent connection between Turkey and the US East Coast and the Egyptian port of Alexandria.The port of Algeciras in southern Spain will serve as the transshipment hub for cargo.

Associated British Ports (ABP) announced a major new agreement which sees Dutch shortsea specialist Thor Shipping & Transport commit 10 years to The Port of Hull.In addition, ABP has invested GBP6 million into Thor’s 10-acre leased terminal, allowing substantial infrastructure improvement works and an additional 2.5 acres of container storage space. As part of this key investment, in March 2019, a hybrid £3.5 million Liebherr harbour crane will arrive, to bolster eco-friendly operations for many years to come.Since July 2014 Thor has trebled its tonnage through the two-berth terminal on King George Dock. It has a regular container and breakbulk service from its own short sea operator - Sunline - connecting the UK with the East Coast of Sweden twice a week.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) celebrated the 50th anniversary for the establishment of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (Thailand).On November 13, it held a party in Bangkok for customers, business partners, and others, marking the event and the centennial anniversary for the opening of liner service to and from Thailand by its predecessor, Osaka Shosen.Around 500 guests attended the event including Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Minister of Transport, and Shiro Sadoshima, Japanese Ambassador to Thailand. MOL President & CEO Ikeda noted that Thailand is the historical center of MOL's extensive overseas network, and Thailand has built a solid position as an ASEAN leader.

The global transport company Ocean Network Express (ONE) and PSA Singapore (PSA),the flagship terminal of the global port group PSA International, will join hands to form a joint venture  company  based at Pasir  Panjang Terminal in Singapore.Subject to regulatory approvals, the joint venture terminal is scheduled to commence operations in the first half of 2019 and operate four mega container berths with a combined annual handling  capacity of 4 million TEUs, said a press release from the global container shipping company headquartered in Singapore.Pasir Panjang Terminal, designed to handle the demand dynamics of today and the future…

Port of Amsterdam achieved a new transhipment record in 2018 with transhipment totalling 82.3 million tonnes, compared to 81.3 million tonnes in the previous year.Together with the other ports in the North Sea Canal Area, total transhipment consequently amounted to 101.8 million tonnes in 2018, said a press release from the 4th busiest port in Europe by metric tonnes of cargo.This is revealed in the provisional transhipment figures announced today. Transhipment in IJmuiden rose by 1% to 18.6 million tonnes. Beverwijk saw transhipment decline by 9% to 0.7 million tonnes. Transhipment in Zaanstad was down 30% to 0.2 million tonnes.The…

Evergreen Group celebrated its 50th Anniversary at the Chang Yung-Fa Foundation, home of the charity set-up by Evergreen Group Founder and Chairman Dr. Y.F. Chang, said a press release from the company.In addition to senior executives and employees of the Group’s businesses, the event was also attended by public officials, customers and business agents from both the shipping and airline industries as well as representatives of supply chain partners from more than fifty countries.The celebration commenced with a performance by the choir of the Yihsing branch of Jiahsing Elementary School from Hsinchu County. The choir was a gold medal…

Netherlands-based  global logistics company Samskip is restructuring the multi-purpose cargo and reefer services connecting North Sea and Baltic ports to Norway operated by subsidiary Nor Lines.A press release from the company stated: "The overhaul, effective from October 1st, 2018, will meet rising demand for reefer and project cargo services southbound and increase capacity for conventional and project cargoes northbound along the Norwegian coast and beyond to Murmansk. Two existing multi-purpose service loops increase to three."In the most obvious change, capacity on the three-ship Nor Lines service between Baltic ports and Norway will be expanded to four vessels, each with reefer/palletized and deck space, and 50mt heavy lift crane capacity.