TT-Line will expand the route between their Swedish hub in Trelleborg and Klaipeda (Lithuania), with up to five departures a week.
The ships will berth at a new, modern ferry terminal in Klaipeda, to be used exclusively by TT-Line. The freight will no longer have to pass the Klaipeda city centre, which will give a faster access to the road network in Lithuania.
The ex-TT Line veteran THEOFILOS of the collapsed Nel Lines seems to have escaped from the scrapyard.
The Central Harbor Master of Elefsis decided to suspend the open tender for her removal. According to the official document of the decision, the old ship has been awarded – for €380,000 – to Anen Lines.
However, the ship is in a very poor condition, laid up since 2013 and the cost of her possible repair is quite serious!
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.
OT Port Gdynia Sp. z o.o. –with the support of the European Union– is implementing the project “Retrofitting of the intermodal ro-ro terminal in Gdynia by OT Port Gdynia Sp. z o.o.”, which consists in equipping the Company with specialist transshipment equipment for handling cargo in intermodal units (semi-trailers, containers) and IT equipment supporting the handling of these cargoes.
Canadian engineering firm Aspin Kemp and Associates Inc. (AKA) and German MAN Energy Solutions are working together on the delivery of the propulsion package for 1+1 Ro-Pax for TT-Line. The vessel is to be built at Jiangsu Jingling shipyard in China. The MAN/AKA power and propulsion package includes eight MAN 51/60DF dual fuel engines, propellers and gearboxes, a fuel-gas supply system and HyProp ECO – an innovative, fuel-saving, hybrid propulsion system.
(this news has been sent earlier as a news flash)
TT-Line have signed a contract for one new ‘TT-Line Green Ship’, with an option for a second vessel.
The contract was awarded to the Chinese Jinling shipyard (Toll Shipping, DFDS, Grimaldi..).
Some particulars:
The new TT-Line vessel builds on the successful Green Ship concept of the company.
While designing the vessel, a particular emphasize was put on flexibility and fast turnarounds in ports, with a high freight capacity.
“We foresee a continued demand growth for short sea services within the Baltic Sea. With this investment we can respond even more effectively to the needs of our customers and support them to grow,” says Hanns H. Conzen, Managing Director of TT-Line in a press announcement.
TT-Line’s routes are currently served by six ferries. They connect Świnoujście, Travemünde and Rostock, and Klaipeda, with Trelleborg in Sweden.
As from Saturday, June 9, TT Line will send a ro-pax ferry from Trelleborg to Klaipeda, and vice versa, on a weekly basis.
The timetable shows a Saturday morning departure from Sweden and an evening arrival in Lithuania. The return voyage starts in Klaipeda at 01:30, with an arrival in Trelleborg at 17:30.
One of the reasons for this new route is the fact that freight is not allowed on German motorways on Sundays. Most of the ferries have a layover in Trelleborg. This created the possibility to start a new line.
Another reason is the trade growth between Scandinavia, Denmark, Baltic States, Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.
Port of Klaipeda is the largest ro-ro hub in the Baltic States (with a strong presence of DFDS). It offers excellent access to deep hinterland, e.g. Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
The service will be for both accompanied and unaccompanied freight.
Via transshipment the cargo can be rerouted to Lübeck – Travemünde, Rostock and Swinoujscie.
After a five-month stay in Bremerhaven, TT Line’s PETER PAN returned into service. The ro-pax has been stretched by 30 meters, increasing her lane meter capacity to 3,000. The ferry is now 220m long.
Getting this vessel was only possible because Port of Trelleborg invested in a new ferry berth, with the help of the European TEN-T program (2014). One of the elements of this “Green Bridge on Nordic Corridor” plan was adapting berths at the ports of Trelleborg, Rostock and Lübeck-Travemünde, to receive ro-pax vessels with a length of up to 240m.
PETER PAN operates on the Trelleborg-Travemünde, Trelleborg-Rostock and Trelleborg-Swinoujscie routes.
Photo: Port of Trelleborg
Stena Line decided to stop the cooperation with TT Line on the route Rostock – Trelleborg. The two companies worked together for two years on this route, under a swap agreement.
TT Line writes on its website that the cooperation will end on September 15.
The question is now who will bring in most capacity on this route. TT Line writes that, “by utilizing its six vessels to and from Rostock, TT-Line will be able to be more responsive to customer needs for quality and capacity.”
Photo: The lengthening of PETER PAN, seen here in Rostock, is still not finished, after some problems occurred during sea trials. She is due to enter service in June. Photo Mike Louagie