MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is pleased to announce a new service between South America’s east coast and Northern Europe, improving port coverage and transit times. The new NWC/SAEC service will operate the following rotation: Rotterdam – London Gateway – Bremerhaven – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Sines – Rio Sepetiba – Santos – Navegantes – Buenos Aires – Montevideo – Rio Grande – Navegantes – Paranagua – Santos – Rio Sepetiba – Salvador – Pecem – Rotterdam The new service will call at Pecem and Salvador in Brazil in order to attend the fruit seasons, providing fast connections with European destinations. MSC offers excellent connections to/from Zarate, Vitoria, Paraguay and Rosario via our hubs in South America as well as to/from Scandinavian, Russian and Baltic ports via our European hubs. This service will be jointly operated by MSC and Hapag-Lloyd with a fleet of nine modern vessels with improved reefer capacity. The first ship southbound will depart Rotterdam on 27 September 2017; the first vessel northbound will sail on 24 October. Source: MSC

Construction at the Port of Rauma container terminal is progressing well. First part (60 meters) of the new container quay was taken in use on Monday August 14th, 2017. After the addition, the total length of the container quay is now 215 meters.The container quay will be extended to 520 meters within the rest of the year 2017. “We are very satisfied with the new quay side and container yard which was now finished. Quay side operations will get more efficient as the gantry cranes will reach further out. Now we can handle even the longest vessels at the container quay” sums up operations director Mr. Juha Rehmonen (Euroports Rauma Ltd). Managing director Mr. Hannu Asumalahti (Port of Rauma Ltd) points out that connecting the existing container quay with new parts is one of the most challenging parts of the project. Therefore a major milestone has been passed as this part of the quay side is finished and taken into use. “Moreover, it’s important to take into use areas that the port customers can utilize right away through improved terminal operations. The traffic volumes have been positive in 2017, which means that the large port investment will be finished at a suitable time. The container terminal expansion started in the spring 2016 and most of the work will be finished by the end of 2017. The total cost of the project is 25 M€. Alongside the container terminal extension, also the Rauma channel will be dredged from 10 meters to 12 meters maximum authorized draught in cooperation with the Finnish Transport Agency. The dredging will will also be finished by the end of 2017.

Milaha, a Qatar-based maritime and logistics conglomerate, has launched the first ever direct feeder service between Qatar and Kuwait. The new service, named KQX (Kuwait Qatar Express Service), will operate between Hamad Port in Qatar and Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait once a week initially, using a 515 TEU vessel. With 50 reefer plugs available on the vessel and a highly competitive transit time of 1 day, the new service is ideal for transporting perishable products and food stuff, among other cargoes, coming into and out of Qatar, as well as for connecting Kuwait to Milaha’s broader feeder network in the Arabian Gulf and beyond.