Zeebrugge News

With a fleet of nine U.S.-flag RoRo ships, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Group (ARC), is the U.S.’ premier commercial RoRo carrier of U.S. government and military cargo. As the world becomes an increasingly contentious place, Eric P. Ebeling, President & CEO, ARC, discusses the vast capabilities of the ARC fleet and logistics network, as well as the challenges and opportunities ahead for U.S.-flag ships in the international trade.By the numbers’ is a simplistic means to gauge the size and shape of any shipping company…

OOCL’s 24,188 TEU ultra-large container ship OOCL Felixstowe has been officially named at COSCO Dalian Kawasaki shipyard.The Oriental Felixstowe is the fourth of 12 ultra-large container ships which are among the world’s largest. They are being built by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry for OOCL, and the third, OOCL Piraeus, entered operation on May 30.Yang Zhijian, Chief Executive Officer of OOCL, said: “We ordered this series of ultra large container vessels not only to provide better services to our customers…

Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. (OOCL) announced it has taken delivery of another 24,188 TEU mega ship.The OOCL Turkiye, recently named during a ceremony at Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd. (NACKS) shipyard, is the third 24,188TEU vessel to be received by OOCL in a series of12.Being a part of OOCL’s strategic plan for further growth in Asia -Europe trade, OOCL Turkiye will join her sister vessels OOCL Spain and OOCL Piraeus in serving OOCL’s Asia-Europe LL3 service loop.

Hong Kong-based shipping line OOCL announced it has taken delivery of another ultra-large containership The 24,188 TEU vessel OOCL Piraeus is the first in the series of six container vessels to be delivered by Dalian Cosco KHI Ship Engineering Co., Ltd. (DACKS).OOCL placed an order for a total of twelve 24,188 TEU container vessels in 2020. Of this set of 12, OOCL Piraeus is the second vessel to be delivered following the delivery of the OOCL Spain earlier in the year."Vessels in this series are equipped with advanced smart systems and green designs to reduce carbon emissions…

CLdN announced one of its RoRo car carrier vessels is ready for its return to service after being fitted with a rotor sail wind propulsion system.The Luxembourg based company is the latest in a string of ship owners and operators to have turned to wind propulsion systems as a means to reduce fuel burn and emissions amid its journey to improve operational efficiency and its environmental footprint.Now fitted with two 35mx5m rotor sails, Delphine is the first vessel in the CLdN fleet to be fitted with the system and will return to service from Zeebrugge…

Chinese shipyard CIMC Raffles on Wednesday delivered the ConRo ship Baltic Enabler to shipowner Wallenius Sol.The newbuild, together with sister ship Botnia Enabler delivered earlier this year, are considered to be the world’s largest ice-rated ConRo vessels with multi-fuel operation.“It’s fantastic that we can soon put both sister ships in regular traffic. Not only will we have a huge capacity increase on the container and RoRo sides, but we will also take a giant stride toward a future-oriented fleet that will reduce emissions and have a major impact on industry in the Gulf of Bothnia…

Hydrotug, the world's first hydrogen-powered tugboat, has been launched at Armón Shipyards in Navia, Spain, marking a key milestone on the path toward wider adoption of the sustainable, climate neutral fuel in workboat applications.Remaining outfitting work will be completed over the next few months ahead of sea trials later this year. The groundbreaking vessel is scheduled to be delivered by the end of this year and enter full operations in the first quarter of 2023 for shipping…

Chinese shipyard CIMC Raffles on Friday delivered the world’s largest ice-rated multi-fuel ConRo vessel to Swedish shipowner Wallenius Sol. The first in a two-vessel series, Botnia Enabler is now sailing under the Swedish flag.The 27,000 dwt ship has a length of 242 meters, a beam of 35.2 meters and the highest Finnish-Swedish ice class to cope with the harsh winter conditions in the Gulf of Bothnia. In addition to its classic RoRo function, Botnia Enabler also has a large capacity for containers.“We’re incredibly pleased and proud to welcome Botnia Enabler to our fleet.

The Port of Antwerp is adapting to losing shipping trade with Russia and its merger with the neighboring Port of Zeebrugge is set to boost overall volumes in coming years, the group's chief executive said on Thursday.Global shipping companies including leading container lines have cut business ties with Russia due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of Western sanctions. While food and medical shipments are still allowed, overall exports to Russia have been hit…

A huge Russian gas vessel, designed to safeguard supplies to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, has returned to the Baltic Sea region, tracking data showed on Wednesday, amid tensions over Ukraine and concerns about gas supplies to Europe.The Refinitiv Eikon data showed the Marshal Vasilevskiy - a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) which can also act as a liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel - visited the Belgian port Zeebrugge where it loaded 163,800 cubic metres of LNG on Jan. 20 and is now near Kaliningrad.The ship's main role is to supply LNG to Kaliningrad, which is separated from Russia's mainland and sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania.

Wallenius Wilhelmsen has recently celebrated the naming ceremony of the RoRo vessel MV Nabucco at the Port of Gothenburg.The ceremony was live-streamed from Gothenburg, with only a select group attending due to the recent increase in Covid cases. MV Nabucco is the last in a line of four HERO class sister ships, Wallenius Wilhelmsen said.To signify the vessel’s sustainable features, and the company’s ambitious sustainability agenda, a bottle-shaped ice sculpture was smashed against the hull…

Norwegian shipowner Wallenius Wilhelmsen said it has taken delivery of Nabucco, the fourth and final vessel in a series of new high-efficiency RoRo (HERO) car carriers.The highly efficient post-Panamax vessels, built by China's Tianjin Xingang Shipbuilding, are each 200 meters long, with capacity of a LCTC and capability similar to a Mark IV. Nabucco and sister ships Tannhauser, Titus and Traviatahas each have capacity to carry 7,700 vehicles.The newly-delivered Nabucco has started…

The Port of Antwerp recorded a year-on-year rise in the volume of cargo handled for the first seven months of 2021, even though disruptions caused by COVID-19 and Britain's departure from the European Union have depressed trade elsewhere, officials said.Countries have tightened entry requirements in response to successive waves of the pandemic, leading ports to become backed up and preventing seafarers from changing over with colleagues onboard ships for many months.Separately…

Crew services specialist Boers has launched seafarer vaccination programs at German and Belgian ports, as shipping executives warn of onboard COVID-19 outbreaks because mariners are not getting vaccines quick enough.Seafarers arriving at ports in Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge can get one-shot COVID-19 jabs through Boers’ scheme, which is being launched to protect key workers in the shipping industry.The Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine will be available free of charge until further notice to all mariners of any nationality arriving in Belgium for crew changes.

A new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel was christened in the Port of Antwerp on March 23.The new vessel, named FlexFueler 002, was built by Dutch shipbuilder Kooiman Marine for owners gas infrastructure group Fluxys and LNG supplier Titan LNG, and it will ensure that ships can refuel with LNG anywhere in the port. It will operate from its permanent moorings at quay 526/528 and supply LNG throughout the port and the Western Scheldt.It is the third vessel to join Titan LNG’s expanding infrastructure in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) region…

The Netherlands-based marine fuel supplier Titan LNG launched a tender for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering barge to service the Zeebrugge and English Channel regions. The first delivery is expected to be fulfilled in 2023.The 4,200 cubic meter capacity vessel, to be named Krios, was designed by HB Hunte Engineering. It will operate with multiple tanks to segregate streams of LNG and bio-LNG, the sustainable carbon neutral fuel produced from biological waste streams.

Swedish shipping company WALLENIUS SOL said it has added a sixth vessel to its fleet as it expands its service to meet increased demand from several of its customers.The 2001-built vessel, TransFighter, is 179 meters long and features high load capacity as well as the ability to combine container cargo, RoRo and StoRo, WALLENIUS SOL said. It will be deployed in a biweekly service on the Oulu – Kokkola – Antwerp – Zeebrugge leg while also adding Port of Rauma as loading port.“We…

Substandard maintenance was found to be a major contributing factor at the root of a 2018 engine room fire aboard the DFDS ro-ro vessel Finlandia Seaways in April 2018, U.K. accident investigators found.The Lithuanian registered vessel was in transit from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Rosyth, U.K., when it suffered a catastrophic main engine failure that caused serious structural damage to the engine and a fire in the engine room. The vessel’s third engineer, who was on duty in the engine room at the time…

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…

A pair of newbuild Damen tugs, VB Bolero and VB Rumba. arrived over the weekend to their homeport Zeebrugge in Belgium in the presence of a small group of delegates of MBZ / Port of Zeebrugge and Boluda Towage.The VB Bolero and VB Rumba are highly maneuverable, high performance, environmentally friendly vessels of modern design. The 85-tonnes bollard pull ASD tugs 2813 were built at Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam and are both complying with the most recent IMO Tier III emission standards.Aside from the Union Koala…

Towing specialist Boluda Towage Europe has said that its two newbuild tugs - VB Bolero and VB Rumba - have arrived in Rotterdam.The 85-tonnes bollard pull ASD tugs 2813, built at Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam, were loaded on board the special heavy lift ship “Frauke” and transported to Rotterdam.The tug duo arrived in the Port of Rotterdam on Monday, November 23, 2020."After the unload process in Rotterdam, Boluda Towage Europe will bring the two tugs, both complying with the most recent IMO Tier III emission standards…

Industry stakeholders at PortPIC stressed the importance of more innovation, collaboration and aligned initiatives to shape sustainable solutions for in-water cleaning.This was the main message from the inaugural In-Port Inspection & Cleaning Conference (PortPIC) held last week, organized by Jotun and DNV GL.In his opening address, Geir Axel Oftedahl, business development director, Jotun Marine Coatings raised the issue of biofouling and emphasized, “There’s an increasing focus…

Two new tugs launched last month at the Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam are due to enter service for Boluda Towage Europe at the Port of Zeebrugge in December. The new tugs will be named VB Bolero and VB Rumba and will join Boluda Towage Europe's fleet currently comprising 81 tugs operating in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.The highly maneuverable Damen ASD Tugs 2813 each offer 85 metric tons bollard pull and will be used for harbor and terminal escort and berthing duties…