Shipping Routes: Cleveland, Everett, Philadelphia

The Cleveland-Europe Express freight shipping service between Cleveland Harbor and Europe via the Saint Lawrence Seaway will begin in Spring 2014, pursuant to a charter agreement with The Spliethoff Group approved November 21 by the Port of Cleveland board of directors. Austral Asia Line (AAL) recently included the Port of Everett in its Pacific Liner Service between the Far East and the North America West Coast. Beginning this February, Bermuda Container Line (BCL) will offer weekly shipping service between Bermuda and the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in the Port of Philadelphia.

The Spliethoff Group owns and operates a fleet of about 100 multipurpose, heavy-lift and ro/ro vessels ranging in size from 9,500 to 21,000 tons, all of which sail under the Dutch flag.

M/S Fagelgracht, the 12,500 DWT general purpose Seaway-compatible cargo vessel chartered from The Spliethoff by the Port of Cleveland for the Cleveland-Europe Service, is 175 meters/574 feet long, 18.9 meters/62 feet wide and has a summer draft 8.5 meters/27.9. Container capacity is 658 TEUs.
Photo/The Spliethoff Group

"This service will offer Ohio exporters a faster, more cost-effective and greener solution to get their goods to global markets," said William Friedman, port authority’s president and CEO said. "The Cleveland-Europe Express can handle roughly 10 percent to 15 percent of Ohio’s trade with Europe."

The board’s action comes amid a general cargo boom, with volume ahead 20 percent in October and by more than 20 percent for the season, putting Cleveland on track to its best tonnage year since 2008.

Initially, the Cleveland-Europe Express will call once a month at Cleveland and a major port in Europe as yet undetermined. The port says its goal is to offer customers the best option for door-to-door cargo movement. The agreement with the Spliethoff Group allows the port to add a second ship, upping service frequency to a call every two weeks, as demand rises.

"Providing scheduled, reliable capacity to the America’s industrial heartland via the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway routing will enable shippers to connect more efficiently to the European continent," said Bart Peters, manager of The Spliethoff Group’s America Service.

Port Board Chairman Marc Krantz said direct route export and import service to Europe will help the Northeast Ohio region and the Midwest compete globally by connecting businesses to world markets. "We also expect there to be a lot of indirect benefit to companies who service the port as a result of increased cargo coming through Cleveland Harbor," he said.

Steve Wharton, operations manager at The Lubrizol Corporation, is supportive of the Cleveland-Europe Express, explaining that having a direct shipping option to Europe will increase the company’s competitiveness. "This, in turn, produces the opportunity to invest more dollars into the local economy, reduce our inventory carrying costs by using this faster shipping option, and reduce our carbon footprint," he said.

Austral Asia Line (AAL) recently included the Port of Everett in its Pacific Liner Service between the Far East and the North America West Coast. That brings to seven the number of shipping lines regularly calling the port.

Headquartered in Singapore, AAL operates in the Asia-Pacific region, catering to the specific needs of the breakbulk, heavy-lift and project cargo industry. The shipping line also operates a network of liner and tramp services in the Asia and Oceania region and in wider geographies, such as Europe and the Americas. It is a subsidiary of Schoeller Holdings Ltd.

The Pacific Liner Service is operated with three vessels with heavy-lift capabilities on schedules that includes calls at the ports of Busan in South Korea, and Taicang, Huangpu and Shanghai in China.

"We are excited to have our first vessel call to Everett," said James Clouse, owner representative North America for AAL. "Our Pacific Liner Service is designed to offer heavy-lift capabilities of up to 700 tons on the West Coast, and we feel our presence in niche ports, such as Everett, gives them a chance to capitalize on their strategic geographical location. When combined, this allows for a seamless, first-class, heavy-lift shipping gateway to and from the Far East."

AAL is a leading ocean transport operator in the Asia-Pacific region that caters for the specific needs of the breakbulk, heavy-lift and project cargo industry. The shipping line also operates a network of liner and tramp services in the Asia and Oceania region and in wider geographies, such as Europe and the Americas.

"The Port of Everett is extremely pleased to welcome the M/V AAL KEMBLA on her inaugural call to Everett," said Everett Port Marketing Director Walter Seidl. "With seven shipping lines routinely calling the Port of Everett, it provides us greater flexibility to meet our customer needs, while helping grow the trade-related job base in Snohomish County."

Beginning this February, Bermuda Container Line (BCL) will offer weekly shipping service between Bermuda and the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in the Port of Philadelphia.

BCL has been in continuous operation since 1979 and is dedicated to transporting to Bermuda a wide range of essential commodities, including general supplies, perishable goods, vehicles and heavy machinery.

BCL's Oleander, is a combination container and roll-on/roll-off vessel capable of carrying 360 TEUs as well as 44 cars in an enclosed garage area. The Oleander has electrical plugs and generating capacity to allow it to carry 88 refrigerated containers, and hoistable car decks in its interior, which allow it to carry large roll-on/roll-off cargo such as construction equipment.

The terminal is owned by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and operated under lease by Holt Logistics, which will provide BCL with stevedoring and terminal services.