52shipping newsSeatruck Power enters serviceon Irish Sea RouteThe “Seatruck Power” has entered service on the Dublin– Liverpool route; it is the second in a series of four newvessels to be deployed on Seatruck’s key Irish routes and willThe revolutionary fourdeck vessels will strengthen theSeatruck freight only operationbetween Dublin and Liverpoolincreasing drop trailer capacity by70 trailers daily in each direction.In total four new ships have beencontracted each designed and builtspecifically for Irish Sea operationby le<strong>ad</strong>ing shipyard FSG inGermany. Each vessel has capacityfor 150 units, 35 more thanSeatruck’s current P Series vessels.The <strong>ad</strong>dition of a fourth deck nowprovides operators with unrivalledflexibility when shipping hazardousand refrigerated cargo. Doubledeck units can be accommodatedthroughout the vessel whichhas 5.3m deck heights.Thanks to major investment byPeel ports the Liverpool terminalhas undergone substantialKelly opens new Dover-Calais ferry routeModel Kelly Brook recently launched the inaugural sailing of a new ferryroute between Dover to Calais run by DFDS Seaways and LD Lines.Dressed in a sailor’s outfit,Kelly was joined by CarstenJensen, senior vice-president,DFDS Seaways and ChristopheSantoni, managing director, LDLines to cut the ribbon, cementingthe opening of the new route.Champagne corks were poppeddockside before the Norman Spiritset sail. Accompanying the vesselas it departed was a Port of Dovertug, firing its water cannon andsounding its horn. The new routewill operate up to five times a day,with the first sailings aboard theNorman Spirit. A second ship and<strong>ad</strong>ditional sailings will be <strong>ad</strong>dedto the schedule at a later date.development work resultingin increased trailer space andconstruction of an <strong>ad</strong>ditionalberth for the new ships. Withmore room and two operationalberths the upgr<strong>ad</strong>ed Liverpoolterminal opens up new possibilitieson the Irish Sea for Seatruck. InDublin the port has invested in anew link span to accommodatethe larger capacity vessels.Concentrating on the shipment ofunaccompanied trailers Seatrucksays it can provide operators withsignificant savings as opposed tomore expensive driver-accompaniedmovements. The solution alsoreduces ro<strong>ad</strong> mileage and runningcosts, Heysham and Liverpoolare much closer to the originand destination of goods, whencompared to tr<strong>ad</strong>itional routingsthrough Scotland and Wales.Seatruck freight volumes havedoubled in the past two years with2011 seeing a remarkable growthof 58% with over 300,000 unitsshipped. Seatruck now has 20per cent of the Irish Sea market.More and more Irish Sea freight isswitching to the Seatruck model.The two remaining new-builds arewell on course to be delivered inthe first half of 2012. They are tobe deployed on Seatruck’s otherIrish routes. Senior Managers fromSeatruck recently attended thelaunch of Seatruck Performance;it will begin operations in the IrishSea in April. The fourth new ferrywill be launched at FSG at the endof March and enter service in June.These vessels will bring theSeatruck fleet to 12, theyoungest fleet on the Irish Sea.Model Kelly Brook celebrates the launch of DFDS Seaways and LD Lines firstsailing from Dover to Calais at the Ferry Port in Dover, Kentin briefMaersk Line cutscapacity on Asia –Europe tr<strong>ad</strong>eOversupply of container vesselsoperating on the Asia – Europetr<strong>ad</strong>e lane has pushed MaerskLine’s container freight rates tounsustainably low levels, so it isremoving 9% of its vessel capacitycurrently operating on the route.“With this <strong>ad</strong>justment we areable to reduce our Asia – Europecapacity and improve vesselutilisation without giving up anymarket share we have gainedover the past two years. We willdefend our market share positionat any cost, while focusing ongrowing with the market andrestoring profitability,” saysMaersk Line CEO, Soren Skou.A January report from shippinganalyst, Alphaliner, predictedEurope – Far East container trafficgrowth would slow to 1.5% in2012 from an estimated 2.8%in 2011, due to a weakeningeconomic outlook in Europe.The industry container vesselfleet, by contrast, is set togrow by 8.3% in 2012.Peel Ports invites bidsfor construction ofLiverpool 2Peel Ports has started theprocurement phase for theconstruction of its new deepwatercontainer terminalat the Port of Liverpool.The landmark terminal, whichwill bring some of the world’slargest container ships to theMersey, will be branded Liverpool2 - and will be open for businessin 2015, providing shippersand lines with a new and directroute to the heart of the UKThe new terminal willaccommodate two vessels of upto 13,500 teu at a time. It willallow shipping lines to connectto the UK’s major tr<strong>ad</strong>e centres inthe most cost efficient manner.It will also facilitate improvedtrans-shipment links to Irelandand Scotland through Liverpool’sexisting services, allowingshipping lines to benefit from alower cost, reduced transit timeand higher frequency servicewhilst enabling an equalisationof equipment imbalances thatexist around the British Isles.Shipping News 3pgs.<strong>indd</strong> 52 19/03/2012 16:56
ConnectedmodernlogisticswarehousingsolutionsLongestdeepwaterquay inIrelandStrategicallyconnectedto the island’stransportnetworksBespokesolutions forbreak bulkcustomersState-of-the-artfreight &passengerterminals400 years of delivery forBelfast & the regionwww.belfast-harbour.co.uk/portBelfast Harbour <strong>fp</strong> <strong>ad</strong>.<strong>indd</strong> 1 19/03/2012 09:56
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