Airbus will renew the entire fleet of chartered vessels that transport aircraft subassemblies between production facilities in Europe and the United States with three modern, low-emission roll-on/roll-off vessels, supported by wind-assisted propulsion.
Airbus has commissioned shipowner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs to build, own and operate these new, highly efficient vessels that will enter into service from 2026.
(Note from editor: more PCTC than Ro-Ro, but still worth to know.)
On September 5, 2023, Greek Neptune Lines announced the order of two next-generation vessels, with a capacity 4,200 CEU’s, specially designed for its short sea trades.
Both vessels will be built by Fujian Mawei shipyard in China and will be delivered in 2026.
The new vessels, under the Genesis Project, are the first two of a new series which reflects Neptune’s strategy to supplement its fleet over the next decade, increase relevant cargo capacity by 36% from current core fleet vessels, and reduce emissions to remain well ahead of global targets.
Both vessels have hybrid energy systems – designed and constructed to use battery installation to supply peak power. They are also equipped with dual fuel engines, able to utilize LNG or VLSFO as fuel.
The design has been developed together with Deltamarin and the vessels will be classed by DNV.
Neptune Lines was founded in 1975 and has a fleet of 19 vehicle carriers, with capacities ranging from 1,500 to 6,500 CEU.
Photo: Neptune Lines
Baleària and Fred. Olsen Express added chartered roro vessel CADENA 4 to the service between Huelva and the Canary Islands.
The former COLOR CARRIER left Huelva for the first time on Sunday morning 22 January 2023.
This service is added to the two departures that ropax MARIE CURIE already makes.
More freight on the roro frees up space for passengers on the ropax.
The joint venture transported 43,500 passengers in 2022, 44% more than last year.
Source: Baleària press release in Spanish and own sources
Since 15 September, Grimaldi Group has a daily departure on Livorno-Palermo, in both directions. A second ferry has been added.
The additional ship deployed on the route is ropax CRUISE SMERALDA (2,000 lane meters, 1,500 pax, 100 cars).
She joins ZEUS PALACE (2,000 lane meters, 1,700 pax, 100 cars).
From now on, Smyril Line’s roro AKRANES will arrive every Sunday in Vlaardingen, coming from Norway. DFDS will handle the discharging and loading of trailers, containers and machinery. Then the ship will sail back to Stavanger, Trondheim, Rørvik and Hitra.
To support the DFDS network, the departure from Vlaardingen to Felixstowe will be delayed with one hour to offer customers a connection from Norway to the UK.
Grimaldi Doubled Ro-Ro Capacity With A Second Ship On The Livorno – Cagliari Service
On June 15, Grimaldi Group doubled the cargo capacity of its Livorno – Cagliari maritime link.
In a statement to its freight customers Grimaldi made public that a second vessel (EUROCARGO VALENCIA – 170 trailers) will be active on the route together with the EUROCARGO ISTANBUL already deployed on the same route.
Frequency of the regular services thus became daily and competition with Grendi Trasporti Marittimi operating the similar Marina di Carrara – Cagliari route is expected to increase.
After a temporary stop due to Covid-19, Grendi also recently announced to have restored the new line started last February and linking Porto Torres (in north of Sardinia) with Italy mainland (Marina di Carrara).
As already written last week, TT Line’s PETER PAN had an engine room fire on 9 July. Two tugs helped her to berth in Travemünde. No one was hurt. Presently the ship is still out of action.
TT Line is now chartering small ro-ro freighter GUTE.
Moby in its last financial report also revealed that both the newly built ro-ro ships ALF POLLAK and MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO (owned by Siem and chartered out to F.lli Onorato Armatori) were bareboat chartered to Moby for 8 years.
The overall financial commitment for the entire chartering period is:
EUR 45,726,000 for ALF POLLAK (15,660/d)
EUR 45,494,000 for MARIA GRAZIA ONORATO (15,580/d)
Port Of Esbjerg: Positive Tendencies Within Ro-Ro
The Danish Port of Esbjerg is seeing positive tendencies within the ro-ro segment. In 2018, ro-ro cargo volumes reached the highest level in five years, and trailer cargo rose by 5.2 per cent.
This reflects a clear trend of cargo being moved from road to sea. The congestion crisis on European roads is a contributing factor.
The enormous pressure on the narrow Dover-Calais corridor between Europe and the UK, which Brexit risks exacerbating, underlines the severity of the problem. There is an acute need for alternative routes and the European level of interaction between the various forms of transport must be strengthened. The Port of Esbjerg has the space, facilities and location to be part of the solution.
