Duisburg

Nov 17, 9:54 Rhine, Danube shipping troubled by lower water A further fall in water levels t...

seagull Nov 17, 9:54
Rhine, Danube shipping troubled by lower water
A further fall in water levels this week is hindering freight shipping on the Rhine and Danube rivers in Germany and many vessels are sailing only 50 to 20 percent full, traders said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. Rhine water levels have fallen because of dry weather in Germany and Switzerland, continuing a period of shallowness which started in late October.

Water levels are so low that the maximum length of vessel permitted to sail in some southern sections of the river has been reduced to 116.50 metres from 135 metres normally, a spokeswoman for the German inland navigation agency said.

"Vessels over this length have to apply for a permit and undertake a test sailing," she said.

The river is too shallow to allow vessels to sail with full loads on the river from Duisburg in the north to Switzerland, traders said.

Water is so low on the Rhine from Cologne to southern regions around Koblenz that vessel owners have a contractual right to refuse to sail if they think their vessels will be damaged.

Low water means vessels are unable to load to full capacity and surcharges are added to freight rates, increasing costs for cargo owners.

More vessels are also required to ship the same freight volume. Some cargo owners have to pay for the full vessel even if it sails half full.

Low water is hindering shipping on the entire German section of the Danube river, traders said. The Danube has also fallen to the level at which vessel operators can decline to sail for safety reasons although their had been a slight increase in water levels in the past two days, traders said.

River catchment areas in Germany and Switzerland are forecast to be mostly dry up to Sunday, so no immediate improvement is in sight, traders said.

The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities including grains, minerals, coal and oil products such as heating oil. It is a major route for Switzerland's commodity imports.

The Danube is a major route for east European grain exports to west Europe.

Source: cruiseindustrynews.com

Jul 27, 12:36 North Europe ports boost box volume, Duisburg port leads EUROPE's largest inlan...

seagull Jul 27, 12:36
North Europe ports boost box volume, Duisburg port leads
EUROPE's largest inland port of Duisburg in Germany boosted container traffic 10 per cent in the first half with double-digit growth forecast to continue into the second half of 2011 with 1.2 million TEU handled or 15.9 million tons by volume.

It has beat off competition from rival north European container terminals and is predicted to overtake 2010 record of 2.25 million in full year results, said port operator CEO Erich Staake.


Duisburg recession-beating volumes continue from last year of 28 million tonnes, just short of 2008 record of 28.3 million tonnes. It continues to attract interest from Rotterdam and Antwerp for the third share owned by the German state.


The rival port of Antwerp in contrast handled 4.3 per cent more TEU during the six month period while it increased its box volume year on year to 4.4 million TEU, a 51.3 per cent increase. Overall tonnage hit 96 million tonnes from 87 million tonnes in the same period 2010.


Ro-Ro cargo shipments totalled 2.1 million tonnes, a 15.8 per cent increase of which vehicles came in at 526,841 units loaded or unloaded, a 19.1 per cent hike.


Breakbulk cargo which was up 16.9 per cent in the same period driven by steel products which were particularly strong at 4.4 million tonnes, a 48 per cent increase. Fruit was up 3.2 per cent at 0.7 million tonnes, but wood cellulose and paper was down 44.5 per cent to 400,000 million tonnes.

Source: shippingonline.cn

Jul 24, 12:59 Marseille H1 container throughput down 9 percent Container traffic at the port ...

seagull Jul 24, 12:59
Marseille H1 container throughput down 9 percent
Container traffic at the port of Marseille shrunk 9 percent in the first half of 2011 from a year ago largely due to strikes that slashed volume at the start of the year.France’s second-largest box port, along with other French ports, is seeking to boost traffic following an agreement with unions over government labor reform plans in February that ended three years of rolling nationwide strikes, Journal of Commerce reports. Marseille handled 462,781 20-foot equivalent units in the period, making it unlikely it will achieve its full year target 1 million TEUs, the second year running it has fallen short due to labor unrest.
The decline in container volume contrasts with first half increases of 4.3 percent at Antwerp and 10 percent at the German inland port of Duisburg.
Total traffic was broadly unchanged at 44.6 million tons, as a two million tons rise in fuel shipments, mainly liquefied natural gas, was balanced by a 1.6 million tons drop in dry bulk trade, mainly steel.
General cargo tonnage, including containers, was down 7 percent at 7.7 million tons.
Marseille and Le Havre, France’s biggest box port, are focusing their marketing efforts on the millions of France-bound containers that pass through foreign ports, led by Rotterdam and Antwerp.

businesstimes.com.sg

Jul 22, 12:54 Duisburg H1 container throughput up 10 percent Duisburg, the world’s largest in...

seagull Jul 22, 12:54
Duisburg H1 container throughput up 10 percent
Duisburg, the world’s largest inland port, boosted first half 2011 container traffic by 10 percent from a year ago, outpacing growth at the top north European box hubs, Journal of Commerce reports.The German port handled 1.2 million 20-foot equivalent units in the first six months of 2011 and increased total cargo volume by 20 percent to 15.9 million tons.

Full year container traffic will overtake last year’s record 2.25 million as current growth rates continue into the second half, said Erich Staake, CEO of Duisburger Hafen AG, the port operating company.

Duisburg’s double-digit container growth is comparable with a 4.3 percent first half year increase in container handling in Antwerp, Europe’s third largest box hub, to 4.4 million TEUs.

The port, which is located at the heart of the Ruhr industrial belt, expects total cargo to post double-digit growth in 2011 even if, as expected, growth slows in the second half.

Traffic totaled nearly 28 million metric tons in 2010, just short of the record 28.3 million tons handled in 2008.

The German government plans to sell its stake in Duisburg, attracting interest from Rotterdam and Antwerp as well as Hamburg.

The other shareholders are the city of Duisburg and the state of North Rhine Westphalia.

Source: shippingonline.cn

Jul 9, 13:18 CMA CGM starts fifth Belgium-Germany rail shuttle CMA CGM has started providi...

seagull Jul 9, 13:18
CMA CGM starts fifth Belgium-Germany rail shuttle

CMA CGM has started providing intermodal rail service between the Belgian port of Zeebrugge and the tri-modal hub in Duisburg, Germany, the Journal of Commerce reports.

The shuttle service runs between the D3T Terminal at Duisburg and Zeebrugge's APMT terminal.

The French carrier said the new rail shuttle, which started last month, is timed to coincide with calls of vessels deployed on its Asia-Europe services (FAL).

The carrier already operates four weekly shuttles between the CHZ Terminal at Zeebrugge and the D3T Terminal at Duisburg.

fairplay.co.uk

Dec 28 '10, 22:01 Duisburg Port's container throughput up 25% Germany's Duisburg port, the world’...

seagull Dec 28 '10, 22:01
Duisburg Port's container throughput up 25%
Germany's Duisburg port, the world’s busiest inland port, boosted container traffic 25 percent in 2010 from the year before, outpacing growth at Europe’s top box hubs.

The port, on the Rhein river midway between Cologne and Rotterdam, handled a record 2.25 million 20-foot equivalents transported by trucks, freight trains and inland waterway vessels.

Overall cargo traffic soared to almost 28 million metric tons from 22.8 million metric tons in 2009 and was just short of the record 28.3 million metric ton handled in 2008 before the economic recession slashed iron ore, coal and steel shipments.

“The excellent results in container handling show that we are on the right road at the Duisburg location,” said Erich Staake, Chief Executive Officer of port operator Duisburger Hafen AG. “This strengthens us in our intention to develop our capacity in order to direct growing flows of goods through Duisburg.”

Duisburg, at the center of Germany’s Ruhr industrial belt, is growing its container traffic faster than Europe’s top three box hubs, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.

Rotterdam and Antwerp boosted box traffic about 17 percent in the first nine months of 2010 and the full year increase is likely to be lower as shipments taper off in the seasonally slack fourth quarter.

Source: joc.com