By Gavin van Marle (The Loadstar) - The world’s second largest container shipping line, MSC, has announced plans to enter the scheduled deepsea roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) sector. The Geneva-headquartered carrier will launch a fortnightly ro-ro service between North Europe and West Africa on 19 February, with a port rotation of Le Havre-Antwerp-Dakar-Conakry-Abidjan-Le … [Read more...]
MSC Says in Talks to Buy Stake in Italy’s Ignazio Messina
LONDON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - The world's no. 2 container line Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is in talks to acquire a stake in smaller Italian counterpart Messina, the Swiss-headquartered group said, in another sign of consolidation in the sector. Container lines are battling their worst ever downturn due to a glut of ships and weaker demand - prompting rivals to form … [Read more...]
Ro-Ro Safety Compromised By Fires and Explosions
Ro-Ro safety is a crucial issue, which was discussed by marine industry professionals at a Ro-Ro Safety Seminar held in Rome last month. Ro-Ro safety became a hot topic following the high level of casualties resulting from recent incidents. Case studies, presented at the seminar, fostered by RINA Services, Interferry and Norwegian Hull Club, resulted in … [Read more...]
ACL’s Atlantic Star, World’s Biggest Roll-On/Roll-Off Containership
Delivered in October, the Atlantic Star is the first of five new 'G4' ro-ro/containerships (ConRo) for Atlantic Container Line (ACL) to be used for transatlantic service. Its maiden voyage from Halifax, Nova Scotia to the Port of New York and New Jersey, Norfolk and Baltimore is scheduled for early January. (Update: Atlantic Star's arrival in New … [Read more...]
KKR Said to Hire Goldman Sachs for Turkish Shipping Sale
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- KKR & Co., the private-equity firm run by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to sell its Turkish shipping company U.N. Ro-Ro Isletmeleri AS, three people with knowledge of the matter said. The New York-based buyout firm, which bought the operator of roll-on roll-off transport vessels for about 910 million euros ($1.23 … [Read more...]