More traffic from Amsterdam to Ireland 
Brexit is still taking its toll – which is an advantage for shipments between Ireland and the Netherlands, which guarantee border-free transit. The shortsea shipping line Samskip, founded in Iceland in 1990 and currently in Dutch hands, is enhancing its recently-launched... more
Five UAL calls in Nigeria
Five vessels operated by Universal Africa Lines (UAL) will call at the Nigerian port of Onne this month. Three vessels will sail to Nigeria from Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, and two from the Gulf of Mexico. UAL, an independent breakbulk niche carrier, says that it is... more
Air-Ports under the hammer 
The process was put on the back burner during the outbreak of Covid-19; but now it has returned to centre stage again. In April 2021 alone five port terminals, including inland waterway hubs, were auctioned off. On top of this the concessions for 22 small and medium-sized... more
European high pushes up box index
The seasonally-adjusted estimate of the container throughput index published by the two German research bodies RWI and ISL for April rose by 2.4 to 127.1 points. The European ports assessed in the ‘Northern Range Index’ contributed significantly, with the latter rising by 3.5 to... more
Ro-ro on the rise in Le Havre
Car imports and exports are growing in the port of Le Havre, and in their wake ro-ro traffic – despite a number of global and European challenges. In a recent webinar the port of Le Havre, a member of Haropa Ports, presented the current trends in business and the gateway’s way... more
Sunny side up for Hamburg
The port of Hamburg witnessed an upswing in seaborne cargo throughput in Q1/2021, above its forecast. A steep increase in March, especially, led to higher volumes in total (+0.4% to 32,1 million t) compared to the same period last year. Container handling performed even... more
Fast forward to 2050
These days, many a port is busy making plans for 2025 or 2050. Merce Conesà, president of the port of Barcelona, gave Christian Doepgen her take thereon. more
On the box ships' renaissance
The shipyards are busy again. According to Clarksons, the order book for container ships is also on the rise. Since 2010, when 30% of the global order book were container vessels, their share of the operating fleet worldwide saw a constant downward trend to the low of 8.8% in... more
A new giant in Southampton
The first unit in a new generation of HMM ships has docked at DP World’s container terminal at Southampton. The HMM “Nuri” is the first of eight 16,000 teu class mega-ships to sail the Asia and North Europe trade lanes. This vessel’s port rotation includes Busan, Shanghai,... more
More inland navigation on the Elbe
In Germany, promoting the shift of cargo from road haulage to other modes of transport, including inland waterways, continues to be an important political issue. In central Germany, favourable water levels recently ensured a significant increase in large shipments on the... more