64 | MARITIME IV
PORT PORTALS Stena Line has purchased the sister-ships, Stena Superfast VII and Stena Superfast VIII from Tallink. The Swedish Line has been operating these vessels based on a charter agreement since 2011, sailing them on the Belfast-Cairnryan route. The company already owns their near-sister ship Stena Superfast X sailing on the Dublin-Holyhead route.
Irish Ferries has sold the Isle of Innisfree ferry to Kiwi Rail. Built in 1995, the vessel operated on the Dublin-Holyhead and RosslarePembroke routes until 2002. Following the arrival of the Ulysses into the fleet she was displaced on the Pembroke route by the Isle of Inishmore. She was chartered to P&O and in 2005 was moved on to the Kiwi Rail company to operate its Picton to Wellington route.
Neptune Line, which runs a weekly service linking Rosslare Eurosport with Santander, is planning to offer space to hauliers to develop an export service from the County Wexford port to Iberia. Irish export volumes to the region are growing steadily particularly in the food and drink area, while the Port of Santander already services substantial ferry traffic to British Ports in particular, while the Port is well connected to the Spanish road and rail networks.
The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) will conduct a study of the British Landbridge in the context of the forthcoming BREXIT. This study will be completed within a few months and the outcomes will guide the Department in its discussions with the European Commission. CLdN has confi rmed that the fi rst of its new-builds with a lane metre capacity of 8000 metres will be delivered in November 2017. It is, as yet, unclear on which routes the new vessels will be deployed. The company currently operates five sailings a week from Rotterdam to Dublin and four from Zeebrugge. COSCO Ports, a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate, COSCO Shipping has acquired a majority stake in Noatum Ports Holdings, which operates container terminal facilities in the Ports of Valencia and Bilbao. It will also acquire two inland railway hubs, one of which, NRTZ Zaragoza, is located in one of the biggest rail logistic centres in the Iberian Peninsula. According to the COSCO it is one of the most important intermodal rail hubs of the Spanish general public rail network. COSCO already operates the major container terminal and related facilities at the Port of Piraeus which is ranked at number 39 in the world container ports league. Seatruck Ferries has signed a ten-year extension to its operating agreement with Warrenpoint Harbour Authority. Seatruck operates a twice daily Ro-Ro service linking Warrenpoint with Heysham using two 2007-built sister ships, each with a 120-trailer capacity. The Seatruck operation commenced in 1996 and in 2016 the service hit the 100,000 shipments mark for the first time. Commenting on the extended agreement Warrenpoint Harbour Authority CEO, Peter Conway said: ”Together both companies hope to continue to grow the business and to provide and develop this modern cross channel Roll-on Roll-off service. Seatruck
is the Port’s largest customer and this new deal demonstrated its commitment to the Port and the region for the long term. As Northern Ireland’s second general cargo Port, Warrenpoint Harbour is a major economic driver for its local region, and its position half way between Dublin and Belfast on the island of Ireland is a major benefit in attracting business. The Port continues to lobby for the construction of the Newry Southern Relief Road to further improve access to the major road network.”
Speaking ahead of the 2017 Cool Logistics Global Conference taking place from 25 to 27 September 2017 in Algeciras, Spain, Director of Cool Logistics Resources, Alex von Stempel has voiced industry concerns at the slow pace of investment by the Ocean Carriers in new refrigerated containers. In 2016 only 75,000 reefer boxes were ordered from the builders compared with the average volume over the last number of years in the range of 100,000 to 150,000. He said that as a result shippers and freight forwarders are becoming concerned that sooner or later they may run out of equipment. The effect of this equipment shortage, combined with the slower than expected realignment of carrier services on all routes handling significant volumes of perishable goods, has become a major concern and may dominate the conference at Algeciras.
Premier European Ferry Crossing Provider 0044 (0) 28 8778 4949 | bookings@derrybros.com | www.derrybros.com FLEETMARITIME | Autumn 2017
“Making Waves For Generations”