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SSS - Short Sea Shipping Vlaanderen. (ID: 463)
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Shortsea Shipping Shortsea shipping Click on the news title to view the full article New shortsea link with multipurpose vessels (16 views) Sloman Neptun offers alternative to road transport between France and Germany 17/11/2005 The Antwerp Trader in action (31 views) Th e Antwerp Trader of AGS Shipping is already fully in service . 8/11/2005 AGS Shipping launches an extra ship on line Saint Petersburg-Antwerp. (41 views) From now on two calls per week in Antwerp. 26/10/2005 European Shortsea Database (click on logo and then on liner services) 5833 people visited ESN Verbindingsdok Oostkaai 13 B10, B 2000 Antwerpen Tel : + 32 3 20 20 520, Fax : + 32 3 20 20 524, E-mail : shortsea@shortsea.be news recent news article News Recent News article New shortsea link with multipurpose vessels With the new call at the French port Lorient (between Nantes and Brest) by its two multipurpose vessels in the liner service between Germany, Belgium, Algeria, and Southern Spain the shipowner Sloman Neptun offers an interesting alternative to road transport. The port of Lorient is being included in the regular southbound service that is being serviced by Sloman Neptun S & T Bremen between the Northern European Continent (Bremen-Harwich-Antwerp) and Northern Africa (Algeria-Tunesia and Libya). In the Northern European ports goods with destination Lorient can be loaded. The transit time amounts appr. 3 to 6 days, depending on the harbour of departure and the rotation. 2 to 3 multipurpose vessels (roro-breakbulk-heavy lifts-long lengths-containers) currently call at Lorient on a monthly basis. This extra call completes the service to the Mediterranean whereby the port of Cartagena (Spain) - apart from other ports - is already being call at during the Northbound trip of the vessels mentioned above. The transit time to Antwerp is 6 to 9 days, depending on the rotatie of the ship. Rotation scheme: Bremen - Antwerp - Harwich* - Lorient - Leixoes* - Oran - Algiers - Cartagena - Lorient - Bremen (* if sufficient inducement) More information at: Neptumar Sint Pietersvliet 15 - B 2000 Antwerpen Tel: +32(0)3-220.02.70 - Fax: +32(0)3-220.02.90 Contact: Johan Vonck - Tel: +32(0)3-220.02.73 - johan_vonck@neptumar.be 17/11/2005 back to overview news recent news article News Recent News article The Antwerp Trader in action O n Fr ida y 28/10 the ship ar r ived in Antwerp for the first time. It's steering course to Russia for the moment . The vessels ships 3.500 ton nes of concentr at ed zin c wi t h destination S a int-Petersburg. Contact: AGS Shipping Europe NV Hilaire Covens - Tel: +32 3-543.22.88 - h.covens@agseurope.com - http://www.transy.ru 8/11/2005 back to overview news recent news article News Recent News article AGS Shipping launches an extra ship on line Saint Petersburg-Antwerp. Since 8 years AGS/Transy Ltd has been running a regular conventional service between Saint Petersburg and Western Europe. Upto now Antwerp has been called at only once a week. Since shortly the shipowner bought an icestrengthened twin decker that entered into the rotation scheme whereby Antwerp is called twice a week. The ship was baptised as m/v Antwerp Trader . The ships on the service Saint Petersburg-Antwerp mainly ship steel products. Due to Antwerp's strong reputation in steel business, Antwerp is the most important southbound port of call with over 220.000 tonnes of freight. 40.000 tonnes are exported. Northbound mainly small bulk and break bulk are transported. Contact: AGS Shipping Europe NV Hilaire Covens - Tel: +32 3-543.22.88 - h.covens@agseurope.com http://www.transy.ru 26/10/2005 back to overview news recent news overview News Recent News If you are looking for older news articles, feel free to browse in our archives . Click on the news title to view the full article. New shortsea link with multipurpose vessels (17 views) Sloman Neptun offers alternative to road transport between France and Germany 17/11/2005 The Antwerp Trader in action (32 views) Th e Antwerp Trader of AGS Shipping is already fully in service . 8/11/2005 Kursiu Linija expands specialised container fleet. (27 views) 45ft pallet-wide high-cube curtainsider units reduce costs 26/10/2005 Last week the Port of Brussels received its first sea vessel. (22 views) In 2005 Brussels aims at 10.000 TEU of sea cargo. 26/10/2005 AGS Shipping launches an extra ship on line Saint Petersburg-Antwerp. (42 views) From now on two calls per week in Antwerp. 26/10/2005 news newsarchive overview News News archive Click on the news title to view the full article. New Transfennica line with 3 sailings per week. (22 views) New express service between Gdynia and Hanko starts on January 1st, 2006. 25/10/2005 Superfast Ferries pursues network optimisation (25 views) As of 8th November, 2005, the Superfast Ferries Scotland-Belgium service in the North Sea, will be operated with Superfast X. 21/10/2005 China Shipping (loading Antwerp) serves North Africa and East Med (100 views) New possibilities in transhipment 18/07/2005 Portlink on own power to Portugal (105 views) Portlink steps out of Joint Portugal Service 18/07/2005 NYK Expands North Europe Mediterranean Service (88 views) NYK announced that its first container service from North Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean will commence on July 26th by joining the Hapag-Llyod s EEX service. 15/07/2005 Grimaldi recently also to Cagliari (60 views) In 11 days from Antwerp to Sardinia 4/07/2005 Informal ESN meeting with Transport Committee of European Parliament (61 views) 30/06/2005 Delphis starts container service Antwerp-Bilbao (81 views) As from Thursday June, 23rd Delphis introduces a new service from Antwerp to/from Bilbao on a weekly basis. 21/06/2005 OOCL Further Enhances its Scan Baltic Express (SBX) Services (72 views) Two separate dedicated fixed-day weekly service schedules 10/06/2005 Lithuania introduces road tax for lorries (79 views) Since May 31: road tax for inland and foreign trucks 3/06/2005 From now on Kursiu Linija via Zeebrugge (82 views) Via its co-operation with the Lithuanian carrier, ECS offers a door-to-door solution to its customers from UK/I re land/Continent to th e Baltic state s a n d Rus sia . 2/06/2005 New feeder service at Zeebrugge (94 views) APL establishes new link to Zeebrugge for Irish customers 30/05/2005 SSS Fact Sheet Containers online available (82 views) Shortsea Promotion Centre Belgium publishes a Fact Sheet of containers . 30/05/2005 Oostende steps into European Network (ENA). (77 views) The official Eurocoast Network Association (ENA) was established in Paris on the 13th April 2005. The main purpose of the project is to set up a Motorways of the Sea between the ports of Cuxport, Oostende, Cherbourg, Rosslare and the Spanish company Perrez Torres. 20/05/2005 New enhanced port coverage with European Express Service (EEX) (104 views) As from April 23rd 2005, Hapag-Lloyd Container Line will operate the existing EEX service independently. 25/04/2005 Weekly container sailings to Saint-Petersburg. (181 views) Enhanced sailings to Russia. 11/04/2005 New Ro-Ro connection to Immingham. (222 views) Ferryways inaugurated a new Ro-Ro connection to Immingham. The company now offers 21 departures per week to Ipswich, 6 to Killingholme and 9 to Immingham (initial phase). 16/02/2005 Nieuwpoortse Handelsmaatschappij obtains concession of former marine zone. (158 views) The |||Nieuwpoortse Handelsmaatschappij||| (NHM) will establish a sand and gravel terminal in the outer port of Oostende. The company expects an average annual throughput of 300,000 tonnes. 15/02/2005 2004: Traffic Shortsea Shipping exceeds 107 million tonnes. (172 views) Increase of 21 percent in respect to 1999. 14/02/2005 More bricks with sea/river coaster to the UK. (139 views) Heylen-Bricks continues transport of bricks along Albert canal. 28/01/2005 New service to Esbjerg. (192 views) From now on Cobelfret also offers direct roro possibilities to Denmark. 18/01/2005 Conventional cargo to Iskenderun (Turkey). (214 views) New service to Iskenderun from Antwerp. 21/12/2004 More container & reefer services from/to the Baltic States and UK. (206 views) Scan Baltic Express of OOCL: a new dimension. 16/12/2004 Bricks with SSS-sea/river coaster to the UK. (242 views) Facing bricks with SSS-sea/river coaster from Lanaken along the Albert canal to the United Kingdom. 30/11/2004 New container sailings to Saint Petersbourg. (181 views) November 2004, the commencement of a new container service has been announced. 26/11/2004 Unique surveillance system opertional in Port of Ostend. (175 views) The port of Ostend and its port users have drawn attention since many years in the field of security issues, both for safety of people and security of terminals. Next to the substantial investments in fences, Schengen gate, new entrance and exit gates, 4 heartbeat detectors the port of Ostend has now installed a unique camera surveillance system in order to meet the ISPS and EU regulations. 16/11/2004 DFDS to commence new Zeebrugge/Immingham Ro/Ro service (251 views) In January 2005 DFDS Tor Line will commence a new daily Ro/Ro service with two Ro/Ro vessels between Zeebrugge and Immingham. 28/10/2004 More direct market approach: the result of yearly ESN meeting. (212 views) Contacting shippers to point out shortsea as cost efficient door-to-door solution in Europe. 19/10/2004 State of the art portal for ESN. (200 views) Renewed website www.shortsea.info with new design, fresh, modern look and easier to navigate for the user. 14/10/2004 Launch of DFDS’ fifth ro-ro newbuilding from Flensburg Shipyard. (225 views) 5th freight vessel launched. 5/10/2004 Figures Shortsea Shipping first 6 months 2004: continuous increase of traffic. (231 views) 2004 prolonges increasing 2003 trend. 29/09/2004 Distribution of perishables in direct transhipment Airport-Seaport. (225 views) Shipping of African fruits via Ostend to the United Kingdom. 17/09/2004 DFDS prolongs transport contract with Saab Automobile. (222 views) Car transport guaranteed on route Gothenburg-Immingham-Ghent for next three years. 17/09/2004 Ro-Ro traffic: corner stone of continuing growth. (239 views) Shortsea in the port of Oostende grows steadily. 13/07/2004 European Shortsea Network launches first annual activity report. (310 views) The European Shortsea network is pleased to announce the publication of its First Annual Report. The report, which reviews the activities of its 15-strong members, has been officially launched at a Shortsea high level meeting of representatives of EU Ministries of Transport in Rotterdam on the 18th May 2004. 9/07/2004 Shortsea Promotion Centre Holland takes over ESN chairmanship. (203 views) SPC Holland will be chairman for the European Shortsea Network (ESN) for at least 9 months. 8/07/2004 Concorde Container Line extends its sailing schedule. (292 views) Direct call at Immingham. 2/07/2004 DFDS Tor Line increase capacity when celebrating the 10th anniversary on EuroBridge. (319 views) To meet the rising demand for transports DFDS Tor Line will increase capacity on EuroBridge, daily connecting Gothenburg in Sweden with Ghent in Belgium and coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the route. 13/05/2004 Opening a new roro connection as from 12 May 2004. (321 views) Import and export service between Antwerp, Zeebrugge and Saint Petersburg. 12/05/2004 Turkey Express. (259 views) New container service to Turkey. 20/04/2004 New agent for breakbulk services to Tunisia and Turkey. (256 views) TRS as new agent for Anmar Line. 16/04/2004 New agent for roro sailings from Zeebrugge. (268 views) Barwil Agencies is new agent of Wallenius Wilhelmsen. 16/04/2004 TransEuropa Ferries increases frequency of departures from 9 to 10 per day to Ramsgate (269 views) The ferry operator TransEuropa Ferries increased the number of sailings on the Ostend-Ramsgate line from 9 to 10, which was necessary to meet the continuing growth of traffic. 15/04/2004 New breakbulk ships with crane capacity upto 640 tonnes. (267 views) Export service Hamburg - Antwerp - Genoa and United Kingdom - Antwerp. 19/03/2004 ESF Euroservices: address point for Northern European and Baltic services. (419 views) ESF Euroservices gets commercial activities in own hands. 18/03/2004 Superfast Ferries: growing success service Zeebrugge-Rosyth. (268 views) The service Rosyth-Zeebrugge of Superfast Ferries transported more passengers and cargo in 2003. 15/03/2004 New service from/to Zeebrugge. (247 views) A new feeder service will be set up by CMA CGM. 12/03/2004 ESN delivers unique liner services search engine. (246 views) The European Shortsea Network|||s (ESN) launching of Europe|||s only comprehensive search engine for pan-European liner services. 26/02/2004 Stora Enso and DFDS in new agreement. (219 views) Traffic is diverted to Immingham. 24/02/2004 Atlas Copco uses waterways. (241 views) Atlas Copco chooses the waterways as it is an environment-friendly alternative for road transport. 21/01/2004 Concentration of Stora Enso shipments from 1st July, 2005. (216 views) Rescheduling of the Swedish and North Finnish paper shipments to the European mainland and the United Kingdom. 21/01/2004 Feasability study of re-introduction of rail ferries between Dunkirk, Dover and Zeebrugge (217 views) Uk agency starts project to |||multi-modalise||| connections between France, England and Belgium. 13/01/2004 Adjusted sailing schedule Concorde Container Line to UK. (278 views) No more direct sailings to Scottish Aberdeen. 5/01/2004 Information day Marco Polo on 28 October 2003 (267 views) 23/10/2003 Expansion feeder services MSC (355 views) Introduction new feeder service Antwerp-Baltics 13/10/2003 Increasing transport of Russian pinewood (273 views) 10/10/2003 MSC starts Antwerp-Gothenburg service (263 views) 10/10/2003 CMA CGM: feeder service between Zeebrugge and England (271 views) 10/10/2003 New sailings from Antwerp to Teesport (UK) (288 views) Concorde Container Line is starting a new service between Antwerp and Teesport (UK). 10/10/2003 Growing Zeebrugge traffic at Finnlines (281 views) The Finnish shipping company Finnlines, which offers services to and from its homeland, sees growing traffic in Zeebrugge. 10/10/2003 Extra link between Belgium, Italy and Turkey. (334 views) K Line is starting an additional service between the Northeast of Europe and the eastern Mediterranean. 15/09/2003 Vessel Sharing Deal for shortsea routes to and from Great Britain and Ireland. (296 views) The Irish shipping group Irish Continental and the British Mersey Dock & Harbour Company are planning to work together on shortsea routes between Ireland, Great Britain and Continental Europe. 15/09/2003 Capacity increase of MSC feeder service (386 views) MSC is increasing the capacity of its feeder service between Antwerp and St Petersburg, Tallinn and Riga. 10/09/2003 More trailers on Dart Line vessels (368 views) Dart Line is doubling the capacity on its Zeebrugge-Dartford route. 10/09/2003 DFDS Tor Line increases its sailings between Ghent and Gothenburg (284 views) 7 sailings in stead of 6 10/09/2003 Lys-line expands its container services from Belgium to Norway (276 views) Direct links from Ghent to Larvik and from Antwerp to Oslofjord. 10/09/2003 New container service Benelux-Norway (247 views) Samskip is starting a new container service between Belgium and Norway. 10/09/2003 Weekly sailings to Tunesia via Grimaldi (332 views) New sailings for ro-ro, containers and general cargo on mafi 7/08/2003 Opening the window for water freight transport in the UK. (375 views) A new organisation in the UK for the promotion of freight loads carried by water. 24/07/2003 Grimaldi serves Roman region via Civitavecchia (311 views) Weekly sailings from Antwerp to Rome with Grimaldi. 18/07/2003 Port of Ostend: growth of ro-ro traffic continues undiminshed. (290 views) In the first semester of 2003 traffic has risen by 25% compared to the first half of 2002. 18/07/2003 New roro service from Finnlines from Zeebrugge to Finland (277 views) End December 2002 Finnlines started the new service 10/02/2003 Portlink launches new service on Portugal and Valencia. (341 views) Portlink start the service as from February 14th under |||Conmed beta||| on Portugal and Valencia. 10/02/2003 Ostend : new roro cargo service to Humber (255 views) As from end January 2002 a new roro cargo service will operate between Ostend and Humber with 6 sailings per week. 25/01/2002 Zeebrugge : return of Renault traffic - New ferry service Zeebrugge - Sheerness (338 views) Renault decided to return to Zeebrugge with the car traffic ex Santander (Spain). On top the export of Renault cars to Teesport UK will also be handled ex Zeebrugge. Mid January 2002 a new ferry service will start between Zeebrugge and Sheerness UK 4/01/2002 New regular conventional service to Algeria (319 views) Internaut Medlines (Bremen) starts a new conventional regular service from Antwerp to Algeria 4/01/2002 DFDS-Tor Line offers 2 more ports from Ghent to Norway : Brevik - Kristansand (299 views) From the port of Ghent, DFDS-Tor Line added (as from september 2001) two additional calls to its sailing schedule to Norway : Brevik and Kristiansand. 3/01/2002 Finnlines Cargo Services strengthens its position to Finland and the Baltic (313 views) Finnlines is extending its weekly sailing schedule as from Januari 2002 with a fifth departure for Finland : Helsinki 3/01/2002 A new conventional shortsea service to Ireland/United Kingdom and Portugal (302 views) Transsteel Line is offering a conventional service to Ireland/United Kingdom and Portugal for steelproducts and general cargo (no containers) 3/01/2002 Dublin-Willebroek coaster (381 views) On July 23th 2001 about 100 containers were discharged ex coaster Larochelle on the inland terminal TCT (Willebroek). 31/07/2001 New Superfast Ferries Service Zeebrugge-Rosyth (412 views) Bruges-Zeebrugge was finally chosen as the port on the Continent for the New Scotland-Europe Superfast Ferries Service. 26/07/2001 news recent news article News Recent News article Kursiu Linija expands specialised container fleet. Shortsea operator Kursiu Linija has expanded its specialised container fleet by building 100 45ft pallet-wide high-cube curtainsider units in China. The units will enter service on its routes linking Eastern and Western Europe during September. "Investment in these specialised containers is directly linked to the service needs of our high volume retail customers," explains Arijus Ramonas, managing director of Kursiu Linija. "Kursiu Linija is moving over 120,000 teu annually for major shippers, linking low-cost Eastern Europe suppliers with retail chains in Western Europe. These PWHC curtainsider containers allow retail shippers to ship goods in units which match a full standard trailer size, cutting down handling and reducing costs for the customer. Curtainsiders have the particular advantages of ease of access for quick loading and discharge, especially where no fork lift ramps are available. Our clients such as major DIY retail chains find them a particular help for handling the large volumes of garden panelling and other timber garden accessories which we ship from Poland and Russia. Soft-side side access containers are also a requirement for the chemical trade, which is growing in volume on our routes." Kursiu Linija has recently set up its own customer service offices in Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Hamburg. These offices will improve customer service, and Kursiu Linija has invested in one integrated IT system across all of them. Lithuania-based Kursiu Linija is an intra-European carrier providing cost effective door-to-door transportation services between the Baltic States, Poland, the CIS and the UK and Northern Europe. Its fleet of five vessels serves Klaipeda, Riga, Kaliningrad, Gdansk, Teesport, Ipswich, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Bremerhaven. For more information contact: Kursiu Linija - Martin Dale - Tel: +44 7802 497516 - m.dale@kursiu.lt - www.kursiu.lt 26/10/2005 back to overview news recent news article News Recent News article Last week the Port of Brussels received its first sea vessel. Thanks to its, for an inland port, exceptional accessibility, the Port of Brussels has been given the status of a sea port. This means that it is accessible round the clock, 365 days per year for both river and maritime traffic up to 4,500 tons (convoys up to 9,000 tons after completion of modernisation of the canal in Flanders); the new Wintam maritime lock links the sea canal to the river Scheldt and thus avoids problems of tides which ships encountered on the Rupel river. The Bugulma (1895 tb) is a Russian vessel that loaded about fifteen empty containers in Brussels last Friday. On Saturday morning the ship left the Port of Brussels with destination Hull (VK) to continue its sailing with full containers to Saint-Petersburg. The ship is an old dredger with a length of 69 metres and a width of 15 metres. In the year 2005 the Port of Brussels hopes to have treated a total of 10.000 TEU of sea cargo on the Brussels container terminal. More info at: Port of Brussels 6, place des Armateurs B-1000 Bruxelles Contact: Sylvain Godfroid - Tel: +32 2 421 66 53 - sgodfroid@port.irisnet.be 26/10/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article New Transfennica line with 3 sailings per week. Transfennica was established in 1976 to handle shipments of the Finnish forest industry. Today, Transfennica is a Ro-Ro carrier, with its head office in Helsinki operating a fleet offering fixed timetables for both Northbound and Southbound shipments between Belgium, Estonia, Germany, the U.K. and various Finnish ports. A new Gdynia-Hanko-Gdynia line will start on January 1st, 2006 with 3 sailings per week. Hanko will act as a hub port and have shipments to Antwerp, Tilbury, L beck and Paldiski. Transfennica wants to offer fast direct calls in order to offer best transit times. The sailing time is 20 hours and they claim to exploit the fastest service crossing of the Baltic from Finland. Transfennica aims to support their customers in developing a new central European distribution fast lane. The vessels can practically carry any general cargo - including Sto-Ro, containers, trailers, cassettes, mobile cargoes and project cargoes, as well as IMDG classified goods and temperature controlled units. The subsidiaries in the main ports (Antwerp, Gdynia, L beck, Paldiski, Tilbury and Hamina) are connected into an on-line network to offer support to the customers and safeguard a smooth daily operation. Transfennica's Ro-Ro fleet has an average age of 5 years. The line s strategy is to continually renew the fleet and in 2006 and 2007 six multi-purpose Ro-Ro newbuildings will enter their fleet to strengthen their position as a leading European Ro-Ro operator. The carrying capacity is approximately double for containers and trailers in comparison to the present successful fifth generation of 20+ knot fleet. The line s fleet of equipment incorporates approximately 4000 units including mafis, cassettes, 20 , 40 and 45 high-cube pallet-wide containers. Length oa: 205,0 m Breadth: 25,5 m Draught: 7,20 m / 8,40 m Deadweight: 12.800 / 18.250 tonnes Container capacity: abt. 640 TEU Lane metres: abt. 2.900 m Speed at draught 7,20 m: 22+ knots Output: 25.200 kW Ice class: 1A Super Delivery: 2006 / 2007 Contact: Transfennica Ltd Maj-Len Ehrnrooth Corporate Communication & PR Phone: +358 9 132 6401 E-mail: maj-len.ehrnrooth@transfennica.com 25/10/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Superfast Ferries pursues network optimisation In response to market demand and pursuing European network optimisation, Superfast Ferries announces that effective 10th November, 2005, its Germany-Finland routes will be operated with three Superfast ferries, Superfast VII, Superfast VIII and Superfast IX and two RoRo ships. As of 8th November, 2005, the Superfast Ferries Scotland-Belgium service in the North Sea, will be operated with Superfast X. Superfast Ferries maintains a leading position among ferry operators in the European ferry market with a strong presence in the Greece-Italy, Germany-Finland and Scotland-Belgium routes, with a modern fleet consisting of uniquely designed fast Ro-Pax ferries. More details on www.superfast.com 21/10/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article China Shipping (loading Antwerp) serves North Africa and East Med China Shipping Container Line (out of Antwerp) starts on August 16th with 2 new shortsea services, via a transhipment out of ports on the Europa Asia AEX2-loop. On a weekly basis following ports are served out of : Valencia : Casablanca, Alger, Tunis Port Sa d : Tripoli, Istanbul, Izir, Gemlik, Mersin, Piraeus, Beiroet, Lattakia, Haifa and Limassol. Using a slotcharter agreement presently Damietta and Malta are already served on a direct basis. Information tel : + 32 3 544 08 70 www.cseur.com 18/07/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Portlink on own power to Portugal Portlink, subsidiary of Maersk Sealand, steps out of the Joint Portugal Service and starts up its own service to Portugal with three vessels en two loops. Antwerp will be served by ms "Portlink Caravelle" en "Karin" (each 216teu) with following rotation : Rotterdam - Antwerp- Lisbon - Leixoes - Felixstowe - Teesport - Rotterdam - Antwerp. The vessels will be handled on Europaterminal (Hessenoordnatie). Information : tel + 32 3 244 49 50 www.portlink.be 18/07/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article NYK Expands North Europe Mediterranean Service NYK announced that its first container service from North Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean will commence on July 26th by joining the Hapag-Llyod s EEX service. This service will call Hamburg, Thamesport, Antwerp, Lisbon, Salerno, Istanbul, Thessaloniki, Izmir, Salerno, Lisbon and back to Hamburg, each voyage taking 28 days. It is planned to use four 1,200 TEU ships to cover this service. NYK will be supplying two vessels, with the other two being provided by Hapag-Lloyd on a slot sharing basis. NYK plans to bring the same standards of customer service to this new route that are so highly regarded by its customers on its major transcontinental operations. Further details of the service at: NYK Line (Benelux) - Antwerp Batavia Building, Amsterdamstraat 18, B-2000 Antwerp - T: +32-3-202-6100 F: +32-3-225-0999 15/07/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Grimaldi recently also to Cagliari Since the beginning of this month the shipowner Grimaldi has been starting a new service from Civitavecchia (Italy) to Cagliari (Sardinia). Thanks to their weekly service from Antwerp to Civitavecchia, they can offer Cagliari with a transit period of 11 days. The new line can load cars, roro units and static cargo on mafis. Grimaldi Belgium - Viviane Luymoeyen - Tel +32 3 545 88 45 - Fax +32 3 541 42 75 4/07/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Informal ESN meeting with Transport Committee of European Parliament On initiative of the Promotion Centre Holland and Shortsea Promotion Centre Belgium an informal meeting took place between the European Shortsea Network and the members of the Transport Committee of the European Parliament on June 14th, 2005. Despite the busy agenda, members of the Transport Committee from Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Greece present. Apart from Belgium and the Netherlands, ESN was represented by Ireland and Italy. The European Commission (DG Tren) was present as well. Sander van t Verlaat (SPC Holland) gave an overview about the working and the growth of the European Shortsea Network, with special attention for its mission, its website and its database for liner services ( www.shortsea.info ). Willy De Decker (SPC Belgium) presented a number of best practices , whereby the potential user could be persuaded of the crucial place of shortsea shipping in the intermodal transport chain. During the informal lunch a number of items were being clarified. The conversations thaught us that similar meetings are very interesting for both parties and that the initiative is worth repeating. For Belgium Dirk Sterckx (VLD) and Sa d El Khadroui (SP-A) took part. 30/06/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Delphis starts container service Antwerp-Bilbao As from Thursday June, 23rd Delphis introduces a new service from Antwerp to/from Bilbao. Delphis' own mv Conceiver (535 teu - Belgian flag) will be deployed on a weekly basis between Rotterdam, Bilbao and Antwerp. The loading berth in Antwerp will be P+O Ports 736. Delphis was founded in March 2004 and operates services to/from Portugal, Spain, France, UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland. A mix of owned and chartered tonnage is used and its container fleet consists of 20', 40' and 45' palletwide/high cube containers. Information: Delphis - Mr Alexander Saverys - Tel: + 32 3 247 61 52 - E- mail: asaverys@delphis.be 21/06/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article OOCL Further Enhances its Scan Baltic Express (SBX) Services Beginning of May OOCL announced the revision of its schedule rotations to enhance its coverage of the fast expanding Scan Baltic region. OOCL will have two separate dedicated fixed-day weekly service schedules using a total of five modern ice-breaking vessels. The latest vessel, OOCL St Petersburg, will join the service in early June. SBX1 will have three 600-teu vessels, OOCL Narva, OOCL Nevskiy, and OOCL St Petersburg, operating on a 21 day round voyage. Call schedule: Rotterdam / Antwerp / Hamburg / Gdansk / St Petersburg / Gdansk / Hamburg / Rotterdam / St Petersburg / Rotterdam. SBX2 will have two vessels, OOCL Neva (600 TEU) and OOCL Novgorod (500 TEU), operating on a 14 day round voyage. Call schedule: Rotterdam / Grangemouth / Hull / Antwerp / Rotterdam / Klaipeda / Helsinki / Hamina / Rotterdam. Containers to/from Asia, Australia and North America can be relayed via Rotterdam and Antwerp to/from the SBX service. The enhancement to our schedules will further improve the service quality to our customers through improved schedule reliability and faster transit times between the key ports, said Ted Wang, Managing Director, OOCL (Europe). OOCL has had a dedicated SBX service for seven years. We are committed to maintaining our strong presence to help customers develop their businesses in the region. Indeed, the importance of the Russian market has been recognized by us naming our latest vessel OOCL St Petersburg. More information: OOCL (Benelux) N.V. www.oocl.com , +32(0) 3 -2 34.88.11 , e-mail: v a nessa . pa n is @oocl.com 10/06/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Lithuania introduces road tax for lorries De Lloyd of Thursdag June 2 reports: 'Lithuania introduces road tax for lorries Since May 31 Lithuania has introduced a road tax for inland and foreign trucks. This tax is valid on eighteen main roads in category A. With that, important traffic and transit routes are being covered. Based on total weight and period of validity the tax is calculated. For an annual vignette people pay a maximum of 550 euro.' More information about Lithuania can be found in our country special about the Baltic states. On our website you click on 'Publications' within the section 'General info'. 3/06/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article From now on Kursiu Linija via Zeebrugge On Tuesday May 24 the first containers were shipped with C2C Lines from Zeebrugge to Warren p oint . Th e 45ft containers w e re imported from Pol a n d a n d th e Baltic s tate s . On Mo nda y May 23 the first export containers from Ierland were unloaded at CdMC . These latters left to the Baltic states (final destination) on Tue sda y May 24. From now on, Kursiu Linija calls CdMC Swedish Quay (quay 705) every Monday evening/Tuesday morning. Here, the line has been linked to the ships of C2C Lines. Kursiu Linija recently chartered the Expansa, the first vessel to serve the Baltic/Europe routes with all high cube container capacity. In addition to the new vessel, Kursiu Linija has recently taken delivery of 100 new curtain side 45ft high cube boxes and 100 high cube pallet wide refrigerated containers, bringing its fleet of modern containers to over 3,000 units. Arijus Ramonas, managing director of Kursiu Linija, says, "Strong and growing demand from companies that see the advantages of using a dedicated short sea service over the difficulties of long haul road transportation is driving our expansion. " Lithuania-based Kursiu Linija is an intra-European carrier providing cost effective door-to-door transportation services between the Baltic States, Poland, the CIS and the UK and Northern Europe. Its fleet of five vessels serves Klaipeda, Riga, Kaliningrad, Gdansk, Teesport, Ipswich, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Bremerhaven. Via its co-operation with the Lithuanian carrier, ECS offers a door-to-door solution to its customers from UK/I re land/Continent to th e Baltic state s a n d Rus sia . M or e enquiries at: European Containers NV - Transportzone - Karveelstraat 3 - B 8380 Zeebrugge - www.ecs.be Anthony Verschuere - Tel: +32(0)50-55.93.50 - ecs@ecs.be 2/06/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article New feeder service at Zeebrugge APL, the global container shipping arm of the NOL Group, is introducing a new, dedicated feeder service connecting the Republic of Ireland with APL s extensive networks. The North Europe-Ireland Service (NIS) will link Dublin and Cork in Ireland with the mainline hub ports of Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. The service will commence on June 1 from Rotterdam. APL will deploy Achiever , a 510 TEU capacity vessel on a fixed-day weekly schedule. The NIS port rotation will be Rotterdam (Wednesday), Zeebrugge (Thursday), Cork (Saturday) and Dublin (Sunday). Henrik Knudsen, APL s general manager for the Republic of Ireland said: NIS is the first dedicated feeder service we have launched in Europe and reflects our confidence in and commitment to the Irish market . In addition to the new NIS link with Dublin and Cork, APL will continue to serve other ports in the Republic and Northern Ireland by third-party feeder services. More enquiries APL Website: www.apl.com Michael Haig, ISIS Communications Tel: +44 1737 248300 from outside UK / 0845 130 1160 from within UK E-mail: info@isiscomms.com 30/05/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article SSS Fact Sheet Containers online available Shortsea Promotion Centre Belgium publishes a Fact Sheet of containers . This Fact Sheet gives you an overview of the specifications of various types of containers present in the market of shortsea shipping. Not only do you read measures of the containers, but you also get to know the capacity and the maximum number of pallets that a specific container is able to handle. The Fact Sheet can be found on www.shortsea.be in section: Publications. 30/05/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Oostende steps into European Network (ENA). On the 13th April 2005 the official Eurocoast Network Association (ENA) was established in Paris. ENA is a collaboration between five partners in five different countries: Cuxport, Oostende, Cherbourg, Rosslare and the Spanish company Perez-Torres which has strong ties with the Gallic port of Ferrol. The main purpose of this association is to set up a Motorways of the Sea -project. The term Motorways of the Sea has been invented by the European Union and is mainly intended to get as many traffic of the road as possible in favour of the ship. The project specifically aims at floating a coastal route which connects the ports of Cuxhaven, Oostende, Cherbourg and Ferrol. This new coastal route constitutes the backbone of this network by which the whole of Western Europe is covered, from the Baltic region over the North Sea to the Iberian Peninsula: - Scandinavia and the Baltic region are served from Cuxhaven - Central and Southern Germany and Eastern England are served from Oostende - Cherbourg has connections with Ireland and Southern England - Western Spain and Portugal are served from Ferrol The coastal route will be served by Ro-Ro ships by which trustworthiness, regularity and high frequency will be the central point of attention. There are already contacts with interested operators. This project has also drawn the attention of several transhipment companies, logistics groups and hauliers; The whole project should be ready before July 2005, so that the necessary documents can be presented to Europe. Hopefully, the necessary support for this project can be obtained in that way. More info at: AG Have n Oostende - E-mail: info@portofoostende.be - Website: www.portofoostende.be 20/05/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article New enhanced port coverage with European Express Service (EEX) As from April 23rd 2005, Hapag-Lloyd Container Line will operate the existing EEX service independently until further notice on a fixed day fortnightly basis and will return to a weekly service in the course of the 2nd half 2005 linking the North European Continent and the Mediterranean. Simultaneously the service scope will be expanded by incorporating Gioia Tauro instead of Taranto into the southbound schedule and by linking Salerno and Lisbon to the North Continent. The employed two container-vessels will perform the enhanced rotation as from week 16/2005 as follows: Hamburg, Thamesport, Antwerp, Lisbon, Gioia Tauro, Istanbul, Thessaloniki, Izmir, Salerno, Lisbon, Hamburg. Hapag-Lloyd Belgium - Kattendijkdok Westkaai 21 - B 2000 Antwerpen - Tel 03-545.06.11 - Fax 03-541.28.50 - Website: www.hlcl.com 25/04/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Weekly container sailings to Saint-Petersburg. In Newsletter 15 we already mentioned the launch of a new container service to Saint-Petersburg. Under the name NWS, the first ship was loaded on November 30, 2004, at quay 340 in Antwerp: the MV Leonid Leonov has a capacity of 128 TEU, which makes 20 reefer connections possible. The departures will take place every week and commence their journey at quay 913. The transit time from Antwerp to Saint-Petersburg is still 5.5 days. The shipowner plans the replacement of the current fleet (with a capacity of 128 TEU) by 2 ships of each 250 TEU. More information can be obtained from: De Keyser Thornton - Oude Leeuwenrui 25 B-2000 Antwerp - www.dkt.be Contact: Bob De Mey - Brigitte Eeckels - Luc Arras tel. +32-3-205 31 00 - fax +32-3-234 27 86 info@multimodal.be 11/04/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article New Ro-Ro connection to Immingham. Being connected to Ipswich and Killingholme, the shipping company Ferryways now has a new connection to Immingham. Immingham is situated alongside the Humber river in Northern England, just like Killingholme that is situated approximately 10 km further. Ferryways has started with nine departures a week. For the time being, the Ipswich Way has been removed from the connection to Ipswich in order to be introduced into the new route. Looking forward to put a new vessel in use, approximately 160m in length, the number of departures will therefore be reduced from 4 to 3 a day. Ferryways has been searching to increase its capacity towards Northern England. Since demand has exceeded the offer for some time now, i.e. one slot (during the night). Immingham was able to fulfil this now. Therefore, the shipping company did not hesitate to add a new destination to its offer, The Oostende shipping company now offers 21 departures a week to Ipswich and 6 departures a week for the connection Ostend-Killingholme. This amounts to 36 departures a week to England, including the nine additional departures on Immingham. In general, unaccompanied trailers are transported. Since the shipping company was established, 5 years ago, with an initial shedule of two departures a day to Ipswich, the shipping company has been in full expansion as a result of the easy accessibility, flexibility and efficiency that is related to the harbours concerned that provide brand-new infrastructure. The Port of Oostende and its shipping company will endeavour to maintain the above service. More info: www.portofoostende.be 16/02/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Nieuwpoortse Handelsmaatschappij obtains concession of former marine zone. It has been agreed for some time now that the Nieuwpoortse Handelsmaatschappij (NHM) will establish a sand and gravel terminal on the areal next to quay 608 and 609. Nevertheless, some infrastructure works still had to be done in order to realise this project. At first, two berths were built in order to allow sand and gravel ships as well as inland ships. Next, the demolition works of the buildings that belong to the Ministry of Defence were started. At the same time, the Region of Flanders (Vlaams Gewest) commenced the expropriation procedure to acquire this areal from the Ministry of Defence. But there was a snag, though, that was overlooked and because of which the project could have become a long term project: soil pollution. Fortunately, this could be solved through a quickened redevelopment. In this way, the Nieuwpoortse Handelsmaatschappij is able to built its installations. We expect the site to be ready for use by September. At this site, the NHM will concentrate its activities which are currently partly executed in Nieuwpoort and in Oostende. The company expects to reach an average annual throughput of 300,000 tonnes. In addition, the firm intends to distribute its products in a multi modal way, depending on the economic situation. Road transport and inland navigation are certainties, but transport by rail, that will be constructed just around the corner, is thought to be an effective means of transport in the future. More info: www.portofoostende.be 15/02/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article 2004: Traffic Shortsea Shipping exceeds 107 million tonnes. As usual, the Shortsea Promotion Centre Flanders has made a balance of the shortsea traffic in the four Flemish ports and on the canals (sea-river tansport). Shortsea Shipping contributes to restrict the inconvenience on our roads. A coaster that sails out from a Flemish port to the Baltic States or Copenhagen, results in an important modal shift of many lorries from road to water. In combination to inland waterways, all major industrial centres within Europe are to be reached via Shortsea Shipping. Since the public works of the Ring around Antwerp, many shippers have been evaluating their transport chain and have decided to permanently appeal to the waterways. The tendency of 2003 (an increase of almost 5 million tonnes in regards to 2002) has been prolonged in 2004. The four Flemish seaports remain the key players of Shortsea in our country. In 2004, more than 107 million tonnes of goods have been received and shipped via Shortsea Shipping (107,415,034 tonnes to be precise). This is almost 5 million tonnes more than in 2003, i.e. an increase of 4 percent. In respect of 1999, the rise amounts to 18.9 million tonnes or 21 percent. The importance of the four Flemish seaports within the development of Shortsea Shipping cannot be overestimated. In our ports SSS makes up for almost 50 percent of the total transhipment. In 2004, the four flemish seaports treated 216.6 million tonnes from which 107.4 million tonnes have been generated by Shortsea Shipping. In 2004, the strongest growth of SSS was noted in Antwerp, i.e. an increase of 5 percent. In Ostend, SSS rised with 4.6 percent and in Ghent a growth of 4.3 percent was calculated. In 2003, SSS lost ground in Zeebrugge. This is due to shifts to Vlissingen and the discontinuation of the P&O-service between Zeebrugge and Dover. In 2004, the traffic of SSS revitalised and noted a rise of 2.2 percent. The relative importance of SSS differs between seaports. In Ostend, the importance is highest (99.7 percent of all traffic is SSS) and in Bruges-Zeebrugge (77.1 percent). In Ghent, 41.21 percent of all port traffic is Shortsea Shipping, in Antwerp 42.74 percent. The number of sea/river ships on our major canals continues to decrease. Last year, 362 sea ships were counted on the Albert canal. On the Sea canal Brussel-Scheldt were 581 ships. On the Albert canal the SSS-tonnage reached 532,165 tonnes (a decrease of 35,000 tonnes). On the Sea canal 907,101 tonnes (an increase of 36,000 tonnes). An unfavourable cost-benefit analysis and structural bottlenecks, among others especially the free headroom under some bridges, remain handicaps. From this spectaculare rise, Shortsea Promotion Centre Belgium concludes that there is talk of a structural increase and of the fact that more shippers continue to choose durable tranports. 14/02/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article More bricks with sea/river coaster to the UK. Thursday 27/1 a coaster was reloaded with pallets full of bricks in Lanaken (Albert canal) with destination Shoreham (UK): 3300 pallets (total weight: 1445 tonnes) were placed on board. The modal shift of appr. 60 lorries from road to water is already the third shipment. 2005, a minimum of 8 shipments are planned to Shoreham. Launching additional ships to a port located more up north in the UK, is an option that is still being studied. 28/01/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article New service to Esbjerg. The shipowner Cobelfret started a new liner service between Zeebrugge and Esbjerg on Friday 7 January 2005. It's a regular service that connects Flanders with Denmark within 1 day. The ship leaves the quai in Zeebrugge every Friday afternoon and berths at the Danish coastal port on Saturday evening. Subsequently, the ship transports return freight to Zeebrugge on Mondays. Mainly containers, trailers and project cargo are being shipped. According to the Danish port of Esbjerg, the Danish hauliers see Zeebrugge as an ideal springboard to the Belgian, French and South-Dutch market. More information regarding this new service can be found at: Cobelfret NV Martin Storme +32(0)50-50.22.02 martin.storme@cobelfret.com 18/01/2005 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Conventional cargo to Iskenderun (Turkey). January, 2005, conventional cargo can also be shipped with Newman Shipping to Iskenderun in Turkey. The Tunisian shipowner Global Rina Shipping, who was searching for a Belgian agent for its service Iskenderun-Antwerpen last month, has found a partner. Newman Shipping has just been appointed as general agent. The first sailing of this new service has been planned end of January, 2005. 2 sailings a month has been principially planned. And only for conventional cargo for the time being. Rotation of the ships: Antwerp/Tunis (or other Tunisian ports 'sub inducement') / Iskenderun (or other Turkish port) / Antwerp More information on the liner agent can be found at: Newman Shipping - Stijfselrui 44 B17 - B-2000 Antwerp - www.newman.be Contact: Erik Valkenborghs - Tel: +32(0)3-222.15.11 Website shipowner: www.globalshipping.com.tn 21/12/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article More container & reefer services from/to the Baltic States and UK. The Scan Baltic Express (SBX) services of OOCL are being strengthened with the addition of a fifth vessel to ensure schedule integrity is maintained during the harsh winter months in the Gulf of Finland. Effective mid December there will be three SBX loops. SBX 1 will call Rotterdam - Antwerp -Hamburg - Gdansk - St Petersburg - Hamina - Helsinki - Hamburg - Rotterdam. 14 day round voyage time with two ice-class vessels - OOCL Neva and OOCL Nevskiy (600 TEU loadable) SBX 2 will call Rotterdam - Antwerp - Klaipeda - Helsinki - Hamina - St Petersburg - Tallinn (Muuga) - Rotterdam. 14 day round voyage time with two ice-class vessels - OOCL Narva (600 TEU loadable) and OOCL Novgorod (500 TEU loadable) SBX 3 will call Rotterdam - Hull - Grangemouth - Antwerp - Rotterdam. 7 day round voyage time with one vessel - Reggeborg (415 TEU loadable). OOCL offers weekly FCL and reefer services. For more info, please contact: OOCL Itali lei 124 B74 - B-2000 Antwerpen Louisette Van de Wauwer Marketing Co-ordinator Tel: +32(0)3-234.88.11 16/12/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Bricks with SSS-sea/river coaster to the UK. In 2004 the company Heylen-Bricks (Lanaken (Veldwezelt)) linked to the transport of facing bricks on pallets via waterways. February 1999, a first transport of appr. 1000 tonnes, had been loaded onto a ms Eldor and directly sailed from the loading place along the Albert canal to Mistley (100 km North East of London). Despite the good experience and due to costefficient reasons, Heylen-Bricks switched back to road transport afterwards. Shortsea Promotion Centre Belgium kept contact with Heylen-Bricks and delivered so complete as possible a contact list (shipowners/brokers). At the beginning of 2004, Heylen-Bricks, in dialogue with the recipient in the UK, re-calculated the costs. The total costs appeared to be cheaper than road transport. April 2004, a first sea/river coaster was loaded with 1300 tonnes pallets of facing bricks in Lanaken with destination: Shoreham (UK). After a first smooth operation, a second coaster was loaded with 1500 tonnes on board to Shoreham at the beginning September 2004. This last action resulted in a modal shift from road to waterway and sea of about 60 lorries. Both transports were thoroughly evaluated. Heylen-Bricks wants to sail ahead on the same waterway and plans to supply a second port in the northern part of the UK in 2005. This would result in regular sea/river coaster transports (every 4 to 6 weeks), whereby the modal shift will be attained every time. In respect of this future strategy Heylen-Bricks is considering the option of having control of a permanent loading facility along the Albert canal. In respect of the quay walls' project (a PPP project for terminals), a first discussion has already been held with De Scheepvaart NV, waterway manager of the Albert canal and smaller inland canals. Contact: Steenfabriek Heylen nv - Tel: + 32 89 715 138 - Mr Wim Heylen 30/11/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article New container sailings to Saint Petersbourg. November 2004, the commencement of a new container service has been announced. 30.11.2004 in Antwerp: the first ship will be loaded on quay 340: the ms Leonid Leonov has got a capacity of 128 teu with 20 possibilities to connect to reefers. The sailings will first take place every 14 days. Afterwards, the frequency will be raised to a weekly service. The transit time Antwerp – St Petersbourg is 5.5 days. More details at: De Keyser Thornton - Oude Leeuwenrui 25 - B-2000 Antwerpen - www.dkt.be Contact: Bob De Mey – Luc Arras - Brigitte Eeckels Tel: +32(0)3-205.31.00 - Fax: +32(0)3-234.27.86 E-mail: info@multimodal.be 26/11/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Unique surveillance system opertional in Port of Ostend. The exploitation of a port consists of a large variety of commercial aspects: Infrastructure, commercial undertaking, organisation of personnel, technical logistics, etc. The assurance of security has become an essential part of a global commercial approach these last years. Security consists of two parts. On the one hand there is the safety of people who are active in the port and on the other hand there is the security of the terminals to prevent intruders. For a long time emphasis was put on the safety of people. More and more, however, ports have to deal with security aspects. The first priority for the channel ports is to stop the illegal migration. The UK seems to be the Promised Land for many illegal immigrants. In collaboration with the Belgian and British immigration services, the port and the port terminal operators this phenomenon has been dealt with as much as possible. Moreover, an entire movement is in progress since 9-11 for security against terrorism and criminality. This has been moulded into the international (ISPS) and EU regulations. The port of Ostend and its port users have taken the lead since many years in the field of security issues. There are the substantial investments in fences with great resistance and intrusion detection, the construction of a ‘Schengen’-gate for the maritime police, new entrance and exit gates, the introduction and maintenance of 4 heartbeat detectors furnished by the British immigration service and the installation of a port badge controlled entrance system. The breech-piece of these very extensive security measures is an integrated camera system. This means that only one system is available for the entire port to which all terminal operators (ro-ro, container, bulk) are connected. No less than 54 cameras are connected to a fibre backbone which criss-crosses the port. Anyone with a pc can have (selective) access to the colour images of television quality and can control the cameras via an easy click of the mouse (zoom, point), whereas the images are saved to a hard drive of a powerful server. This system should make the already successful fight against illegal migration even more efficient. It has become a very hard job to intrude the port without being noticed. Facilitators, illegal immigrants or plain criminals will soon notice this. The solidarity between all port users and official services (maritime police, port control, fleet and port) is the basis for this unique system, which immediately guarantees the ISPS certification of all operators. Eventually this effort should benefit all customers which make use of the services in the Port of Ostend as to protect them against all inconveniences with regard to illegal migration, smuggling, theft, vandalism and other criminal activities. More information can be found at www.portofoostende.be 16/11/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article DFDS to commence new Zeebrugge/Immingham Ro/Ro service In January 2005 DFDS Tor Line will commence a new daily Ro/Ro service with two Ro/Ro vessels between Zeebrugge and Immingham. At the same time DFDS will enter a co-operation agreement with Dart Line regarding stevedoring and terminal operations in Zeebrugge and also a marketing co-operation, whereby Dart Line's and DFDS Tor Line's services from Zeebrugge to Dartford and Immingham will be offered to joint cus-tomers providing connections to both the South and the North of the UK. In Zeebrugge DFDS Tor Line will use the 165,000 sq.m. Dart Line/CTO terminal in Wielingen Dock in the outer harbour. The terminal has its own intermodal rail tracks capable of handling full length block trains with frequent connections to Italy and Germany. DFDS Tor Line is already present in the Belgium market with its daily service between Ghent and Gothenburg (Brevik) and will now be opening a booking and sales office in Zeebrugge. DFDS Tor Line has made an agreement with Volvo Logistics regarding shipment of cars and trucks between Zeebrugge and Immingham. In Immingham the new service will call at DFDS' Nordic Terminal which is being extended with three river berths and additional 50 acres to be constructed during 2005. For further information concerning local matters in Belgium, you can contact: Stefaan de Brouwer General Manager DFDS Tor Line NV / Gent Tel +32 9 269 12 60 e-mail: stefaan.debrouwer@dfdstorline.com 28/10/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article More direct market approach: the result of yearly ESN meeting. The members of the European Shortsea Network (ESN) have commenced with the tasks mentioned in the action plan 2004-2005. One of the points is to contact shippers in order to point out that shortsea transport can offer a cost efficient door-to-door solution for freight transport in Europe. This is the result of meeting of the ESN members recently held in Amsterdam on invitation of the Dutch Shortsea Promotion Centre. At the last meeting in Paris the marketing plan had been approved and the start of the various actions had already been announced at the Short Sea High Level meeting on 17-19 May of this year in Rotterdam. The work of ESN and the actions directed towards individual shippers correspond entirely with the Conclusions of the Informal Transport Council (of EU transport ministers) of 10 July 2004 (1) The start-up phase of the newer ESN members is over now and these Shortsea Promotion Centres (SPC’s) have now the time and the knowledge to concentrate on potential shortsea users. In this respect, compiling and passing on of the names of companies with shortsea potential is very important. The coming months a list of European “multinationals” (companies with plants/establishments in several European countries) will be made. These companies will be contacted and on request ESN members will evaluate the freight flows and give a practical advise. SPC’s also found that more and more transport-decisions are made in other countries than from where the goods are shipped. Also the names of these companies are collected and passed on to the respective SPC. Next to direct communications with individual companies, also groups of companies will be informed on shortsea possibilities by organising bilateral workshops. In October 3 workshops have been organised. From 2-5 October a “workshop on board” took place between Barcelona and Rome, organised by SPC Italy and SPC Spain. On 11 October the SPC’s of Finland and Poland organised a conference on “Motorway of the Baltic Sea” in Sopot (Poland). On 26 October the theme of the workshop in Lisbon is “The synergy between shortsea and road”. Organisers are the SPC’s of Portugal and Flanders. During the spring of 2005 the network will invite European Parliament members of the transport commission. A number of important European schemes are on the stocks that also will influence shortsea shipping. The renewed ESN website www.shortsea.info, that was presented to the market during the ESC Shippers Conference in Rotterdam on 13 October, will offer more information on shortsea services in Europe. The new Content Management System enables the ESN members to update news items in a simple way and give better information on success stories, new services and conferences. The number of members of the network is increasing steadily. At this moment, six countries have a working group with the task to investigate the possibilities to establish a promotion centre. The countries are Estonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Malta, Bulgaria and Turkey. ESN will advise these countries in setting up a shortsea information bureau. *** (1) Shortsea Shipping in the enlarged European Union ‘ Full steam ahead!’ Presidency Conclusions of the Informal Transport Council, Amsterdam, 10 July 2004-10-04 …..with regard to supportive structures for shortsea shipping: WELCOME(S) the ESN action plan and REQUEST(S) the Promotion Offices to implement it as soon as possible, WELCOME(S) the valuable work done by the National Shortsea Promotion Centres and their European Shortsea Network and REQUEST(S) Member States to support these centres where appropriate. UNDERLINE(S) the importance of creating commitment with shippers in the development and acceptance of the concept of shortsea shipping. 1 Shortsea Shipping in the enlarged European Union ‘ Full steam ahead!’ Presidency Conclusions of the Informal Transport Council, Amsterdam, 10 July 2004-10-04 …..with regard to supportive structures for shortsea shipping: WELCOME(S) the ESN action plan and REQUEST(S) the Promotion Offices to implement it as soon as possible, WELCOME(S) the valuable work done by the National Shortsea Promotion Centres and their European Shortsea Network and REQUEST(S) Member States to support these centres where appropriate. UNDERLINE(S) the importance of creating commitment with shippers in the development and acceptance of the concept of shortsea shipping… *** More info on www.shortsea.info 19/10/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article State of the art portal for ESN. The European Shortsea Network (ESN) presented its renewed website www.shortsea.info at the “ Shipper Forum 2004” conference in Rotterdam. The completely new design has a fresh, modern look and is also easier to navigate for the user. However the visitor cannot see the main changes, namely the latest software for both the site and the search engine. The website of the Network provides both practical and background information for shippers, forwarders and transport companies, who are looking for information on shortsea shipping in Europe. The main new feature in this website – and unique in Europe - are the extended options in the SEARCH ENGINE. The search engine liner services now offers search possibilities for all types of cargo to and from European destinations. The search result on a selected route gives information on the shipping line and details on the liner service, such as the frequency and transit time and the name of the agent. Also contact information of the agent is available, like phone number and e-mail address. In this way ESN facilitates the contact with the agents and or shortsea operators. Furthermore a search engine on ports is available. All other subjects in the website have been reviewed. On the colourfull homepage, the latest news items leap to the eye immediately. The NEWS section offers the latest news from the shortsea sector, information on ‘shortsea’ conferences, success stories and a list of the press releases published by ESN. ABOUT SHORTSEA gives extended details on the advantages of shortsea shipping, what has been shipped via shortsea (statistics), the definition of shortsea and information about the work of the European Commission on shortsea. Of course information on the ESN Network and its members can be found on this site. The ORGANISATIONS button offers you a list of national and European branch organisations in the shortsea chain. All the offices of the current ESN members are up-and-running and this renewed website gives ESN members the possibility to focus even more on shippers. The practical information is now available 24 hours a day. For the members of the network, the new website also has additional features through the Content Management System. Through this system, not only the liner services database, but also all text pages on the front-end of the website can be adapted. All Shortsea Promotion Centres (SPC’s) have the possibility to insert news, success stories, etc on the web. This feature makes it easier to keep the website updated at any given time. The main reason for the change of the website is to make it future-proof. ESN has chosen to build the site with the latest software; asp.net in combination with an SQL-database. A.o. this makes it possible for SPCs and shipping lines to use XML-protocols for uploading and downloading data to/from the search engine liner services. The implementation of the new website corroborates the excellent co-operation of the ESN members. The design was made in and co-ordinated by SPC Italy, a Danish company was responsible for the programming and the overall co-ordination was in the hands of the taskforce (SPC France, SPC Italy, SPC Norway and SPC UK), chaired by the webmaster SPC Holland. This project of the European Shortsea Network is supported by the European Commission. ### More information: Shortsea Promotion Centre Belgium www.shortsea.be 14/10/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Launch of DFDS’ fifth ro-ro newbuilding from Flensburg Shipyard. 1 October 2004 another DFDS freight vessel was launched at Flensburg Shipyard. The vessel was named TOR FREESIA. TOR FREESIA is the fifth of a contract for six ro-ro vessels with Flensburg Shipyard. The sixth will be delivered in the summer of 2006. DFDS are negotiating an option for one more ro-ro vessel for delivery in the summer of 2008. TOR FREESIA will be delivered 7 January 2004, and put in service on the AngloBridge route between Gothenburg and Immingham. As of 10 January 2004 TOR BEGONIA and TOR PETUNIA will also be deployed on this route, which has seven weekly departures in each direction. DFDS’ need for the new large ships has been caused by the substantial transport agreements that DFDS has entered into lately with large European industrial customers. The tonnage renewal is also part of DFDS’ strategy to reduce the average age of the fleet. More info? DFDS Tor Line Doornzelestraat 71 B-9000 GHENT Tel: +32(0)9-269.12.69 Fax: +32(0)9-233.50.16 Contact: Stefaan De Brouwer E-mail: stefaan.debrouwer@dfdstorline.com 5/10/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Figures Shortsea Shipping first 6 months 2004: continuous increase of traffic. As usual, the Shortsea Promotion Centre Flanders has made a half-yearly balance of the shortsea traffic in the four Flemish ports and on the canals (sea-river tansport). The 2003 trend (i.e. an increase of almost 7 millions of tonnes in comparison to 2002) is being prolonged to the first 6 months of 2004. Compared to the first 6 months of 2003, the same period shows an increase of almost 1.3 millions of tonnes in the four Flemish ports in 2004. The total shortsea traffic just doesn’t come to 50% of the total handled tonnage in the four Flemish ports. This is a light decrease that probably has to do with the booming deepsea-traffic to a.o. the Far East, which had the global handled tonnages (especially in Antwerp) risen immensely. The sea-river figures show a light recovery for the Sea Canal. The traffic with sea-river coasters on the Albert Canal continues falling back. The Promotion Centre started a study to chart the situation of sea-river. Info at: Willy De Decker Promotie Shortsea Shipping Vlaanderen Verbindingsdok Oostkaai 13 B10 B-2000 Antwerpen Tel: +32(0)3-20.20.520 29/09/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Distribution of perishables in direct transhipment Airport-Seaport. The competitiveness and quality of the multi-modal transhipment infrastructure in Oostende enabled Oostende to become the turning-point of an important distribution of fruits, vegetables and flowers from Africa (mainly Zambia, South Africa, Uganda en Kenya) MK Airlines fully opts for Oostende, at the expense of Manston Airport in Kent. Daily flights bring the fresh goods to the Airport of Oostende where they land around noon. These goods are transhipped at the airport on lorries of the Dutch transporter Balkenende, which takes care of the distribution in Europe and delivers the goods on destination the same night. 70 % of the supplied goods are destined for the United Kingdom. Balkenende chose Transeuropa Ferries, which sails on the Oostende-Ramsgate route, as the ideal way for shipping. The sea transport is followed by swift road transport via the ‘Thanet Way’ to the Dartford Crossing from which drivers can reach the North of London via the M25. This traffic of many dozens of refrigerated lorries per week with Transeuropa Ferries is an asset for the port of Oostende and an excellent example of the possibilities of Oostende for Airport-Seaport transhipment. This form of transhipment is rare especially since swift handling on short distances is virtually impossible. Info: info@portofoostende.be www.portofoostende.be 17/09/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article DFDS prolongs transport contract with Saab Automobile. DFDS’ freight division, DFDS Tor Line, and Saab Automobile have signed a new three-year contract. The contract covers the transportation of approximately 35,000 cars per annum from Gothenburg in Sweden to Immingham, UK, and Ghent, Belgium, respectively. From here the cars are distributed to various European markets. Under the name of DFDS Autologistics DFDS Tor Line has worked intensively for a long period of time on establishing contracts with primarily European car manufacturers, whom DFDS Tor Line offers an extensive Ro-Ro route network on the North Sea and the Baltic. At present DFDS Tor Line handles the transportation of approximately 300,000 cars per annum. The new contract with Saab Automobile follows a series of similar industrial contracts entered into by DFDS Tor Line over the last nine months or so. Info: Stefaan de Brouwer General Manager DFDS Tor Line N.V. Doornzelestraat 71 B-9000 GENT Tel: +32(0)9-269.12.60 Fax: +32(0)9-233.50.16 17/09/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Ro-Ro traffic: corner stone of continuing growth. The total handled freight tonnage amounted to 3,720,478 Tons as opposed to 3,663,438 Tons in the first semester of last year (+1.6%). The premised prognosis of the ro-ro traffic was met with a growth of 5,1 %, in which the unaccompanied freight grew the most. Oostende handled 146,222 ro-ro units in the first six months of 2004 compared to 139,526 units in the same period last year. At the beginning of the year the aim for 300,000 units was set. This goal is still feasible. The shortsea lo-lo container traffic grew steadily with 4,702 units or 8,578 TEU (+17.9%). The feeder service to Rotterdam calls at Oostende three times a week, whilst the weekly service to Kleipeda continuously grows. The bulk and general cargo slightly decreased to 789,426 Tons (-3%), which is mainly due to a diminished import of sand necessary for the yearly sand supplying (the construction of the emergency beach is obviously not incorporated in the statistic of the port). More info on www.portofoostende.be 13/07/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article European Shortsea Network launches first annual activity report. The 2003 report, which contains an overview of the highlights of shortsea developments in each of the 15 member countries, is testament to the success of the European Shortsea network in promoting the benefits of shortsea shipping to both industry and policy makers. The President of the ESN, Mr. Glenn Murphy, who will also take the opportunity to present the ESN Marketing Plan 2004-2005 during the Rotterdam forum, commented : “The ESN collectively is a powerful and unique resource bringing together a high level of pan-European expertise in the Shortsea shipping and logistics sectors. Its shared experiences at a national level provide a multifaceted approach to problem solving and seeking innovative ways to progress our common policy objectives in this area” The publication of the ESN Annual Report arrives at a time of unprecedented support from the European Commission for the promulgation of shortsea shipping as a sustainable form of transport. There has been a renewed and prominent focus at European level on the role of Shortsea Shipping and its strategic importance to the European Community. The EU has recently put many specific high level policy measures in place with others pending over the next 6 months. The most recent driver for shortsea shipping is the EU backed Marco Polo scheme which grants aid to projects which shift freight from road to non-road modes such as Short Sea Shipping and inland waterways. Probably the most significant and far-reaching evidence of the EU’s commitment, to the promotion of short sea shipping, is the inclusion of Motorways of the Sea in the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). For a full copy of the ESN Annual Report please log on to the website www.shortsea.nl. Then go to shortsea specifics/publications/brochures or contact us for a hard copy. The European Shortsea Network (www.shortsea.info) comprises 15 countries including Ireland, UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Flanders, Denmark, Poland, Greece, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The IMDO, Ireland’s representative to the European Shortsea Network (ESN) held the Presidency of the ESN for the first six months of 2004. Short Sea Shipping is a successful mode of transport in Europe. In the 1990’s it was the only mode that was able to keep pace with the growth of road transport. It has in fact started to outpace road transport. The European Union is also heavily dependant on short sea shipping for trade purposes. Over 90% of the European Union’s external trade and some 43% of its internal trade goes by sea; more than 1 billion tonnes of freight a year are loaded and unloaded in EU ports. Maritime companies belong to European Union nationals control one third e world fleet, and some 40% of EU trade is carried on vessels controlled by EU interests. 9/07/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Shortsea Promotion Centre Holland takes over ESN chairmanship. Following the presidencies of the European Commission, Holland took over the chair from Ireland on 1 July 2004. SPC Holland will be chairman for the European Shortsea Network (ESN) for at least 9 months. We thank Ireland for a job well done. Under their leadership, ESN made an enormous progress towards the goal of making the European Shortsea Network more visible. They developed and co-ordinated the inaugural annual report over 2003 of ESN. A second major achievement is the agreement on the ESN Marketing Plan for 2004 and 2005. During the Dutch Presidency of the European Union, shortsea is one of the priorities of the Dutch Ministry of transport. These priorities were formulated together with stakeholders in The Netherlands and ESN also contributed in formulating these shortsea priorities, which were finally agreed at the Shortsea High Level Meeting in May this year. At this meeting ESN, represented by Sander van ‘t Verlaat (director of the Shortsea Promotion Centre Holland), presented the outcome of the workshop ‘Quality Criteria for the Motorways of the Sea’. This workshop was held in Rotterdam on 10 May and was attended by about 45 persons, both from shortsea operators, agents and ports as well as shippers. Representatives from the Shortsea Promotion Centres in Finland, Ireland, Spain and Italy presented their views on this subject. These quality criteria are instrumental in making shortsea transport a real alternative for road transport and in this light these quality criteria were discussed. The conclusion was that shortsea had already made quite some progress towards this goal. One of the main hindrances is that EU regulations are not carried out in the same way in each member state. Thus disturbing the level playing field for shortsea in relation to other modalities. The coming months SPC Holland, together with all ESN members, will focus on the implementation of the marketing plan and specific activities relating to this plan. One of the activities is the realisation of ESN-roll up displays, which makes ESN more visible during activities of the local Promotion Centres. Another important activity is the implementation of the improved website and especially the improved Content Management System (CMS) for the so-called back-end. This CMS can not only be used to update news, etc., but is also the place to enter and update the liner services database information. This database can be accessed on the home page via a search engine for shortsea liner services in Europe. This unique tool has been developed by ESN since the start and offers a platform for information on shortsea services in Europe. ESN’s goal is to complete the liner services database this year. When completed, this database is an important tool for each national Shortsea Promotion Centre to fulfil their primary aim: promotion of shortsea shipping in Europe and giving information on the possibilities of shortsea transport. More information: Shortsea Promotion Centre Holland Sander van ‘t Verlaat, director Tel. 010-5061931 – e-mail: shortsea@shortea.nl 8/07/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Concorde Container Line extends its sailing schedule. As from june Concorde Container Line's ships call directly at Immingham. 2 vessels operate between Antwerp and the United Kingdom. SHIP 1 Monday: Grangemouth Wednesday: Antwerp Friday: Immingham Saturday: Grangemouth SHIP 2 Monday: Antwerp Wednesday: Grangemouth Friday: Antwerp Sundag: Teesport Monday: Grangemouth More info can be found at www.bgfreightline.com 2/07/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article DFDS Tor Line increase capacity when celebrating the 10th anniversary on EuroBridge. Four ro-ro vessels are presently operating on EuroBridge. The increasing cargo volumes involve that two of the five new-built vessels from the Flensburger Shipyard will be deployed on the route, the first in October this year and the second in January next year. In order to immediately respond to increased demand for capacity on EuroBridge, TOR SELANDIA will be temporarily deployed from May. The new tonnage will subsequently replace the chartered vessels TOR DANIA and TOR BELGIA, which then will be deployed elsewhere within DFDS Tor Line's regular traffic. The German road tax, due from January 1st 2005, is expected to further increase cargo volumes. By then our tonnage upgrading is expected to be completed, resulting in a capacity increase of ca. 25%. Above changes on EuroBridge in turn will mean that the first 5 of DFDS' new-built vessels will call at Gothenburg, two on EuroBridge together with TOR SCANDIA and TOR FLANDRIA and the remaining three on AngloBridge. DFDS A/S has recently advised the contracting of new-building no. 6 with delivery mid 2006 from the Flensburger Shipyard as well as that negotiations regarding an option on vessel no. 7 are in progress. For further information please contact: Stefaan de Brouwer - stefaan.debrouwer@dfdstorline.com DFDS Tor Line N.V. Doornzelestraat 71 B-9000 GENT Tel: +32(0)9-269.12.60 www.dfdstorline.com 13/05/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Opening a new roro connection as from 12 May 2004. Finnlines and its jointly operated service, the TransRussiaExpress will start a new weekly connection between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg. The present service will be extended by adding a 3rd vessel - ms Vasaland - into this traffic as from 12 May 2004. The port of Sompasaari in Helsinki will be the logistics service centre of the traffic. Ms Vasaland will call at Helsinki on her way from L beck to Saint Petersburg, and ms Finlandia vice versa. In addition to L beck, Helsinki and Saint Petersburg, the ports of call are Baltijsk (Kaliningrad Region) in Russia and Sassnitz in Germany. On Thursday and Sunday, the vessels leave from the Port of Antwerp to Helsinki. On Saturday they leave the Port of Zeebrugge. Via transhipment in Helsinki, roro material can be delivered in Saint Petersburg within 4 to 7 days. More information: Finnlines Belgium Land Van Waaslaan 1213 B-9130 Kallo www.finnlines.fi Contact: Dirk Elinck - dirk.elinck@finnlines.be Tel: +32(0)3-570 95 30 - Fax: +32(0)3-570 95 50 12/05/2004 back to overview news newsarchive article News News archive article Turkey Express. With immediate effect MSC started with a new container service to Turkey. These new