Lower sulphur emissions
The Port of Gothenburg, Sweden, has confirmed that its measurements show that sulphur emissions from ships have fallen by 80 per cent since the Sulphur Emission Control Areas rules came into force at the turn of the year.
These measurements are being carried out using a sniffer located at the Alvsborg Fortress. The sniffer, which measures sulphur and carbon dioxide levels in gas emissions, has been developed by the Chalmers University of Technology with support from Vinova, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and Gothenburg Port Authority. During the first few weeks of 2015, the emission plume from 200 passing ships were measured.
At the turn of the year, the sulphur content in fuel was reduced from one to 0.1 per cent in the Baltic, North Sea and English Channel shipping areas.
Green ferry
Funded by the EU’s seventh Framework programme, BB Green is a new battery-driven ferry concept with zero operational emissions. It is intended to offer modern, low-emission waterborne transport services, especially in congested areas.
The prototype was developed by a Europe-wide team. Studio Sculli, Italy, is responsible for the topside and GA-design while the 400kWh battery was developed by Emrol BvBa, Belgium. Diab, Sweden, is responsible for the composite engineering. Latvian firm Latitude Yachts is building and outfitting the BB Green ferry.
The hull and superstructure of the full-size concept demonstrator are made from vacuum-infused Divinycell core material, which is designed to make the vessel strong, light and durable. Also, around 80 per cent of the vessel’s weight will be supported on a cushion of pressurised air, thus offering reduced resistance and wake wash. This technique, developed and patented by Effect Ships International, is called Air Supported Vessel technology.
The first prototype BB Green vessel is scheduled for service this summer and demonstrations will take place in several cities around Europe.
Top European airport
Last year, both Frankfurt and Paris airports claimed to be the busiest cargo gateways in Europe. Indeed, 2013 figures show that the two are very close in terms of cargo traffic, with Frankfurt handling 2.1 million tonnes of cargo while Paris – combining the figures of Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports – topped the 2.18 million tonne figure.
However, both claims for top spot might be correct since figures contain airmail traffic. This puts the Paris airports in front. However, by removing airmail traffic from the equation, it is Frankfurt airport which handled the highest cargo traffic.
This year looks like it will be a repeat situation. Frankfurt has reported a figure of 2.2 million tonnes for 2014, while Paris claims it handled a total of 2.201 million tonnes. Frankfurt, however, wants to gain top position and has set itself the task of hitting the three million tonne mark by the end of 2020. The airport is also planning a major expansion and a 27-hectare site has already been cleared to make way for the development. The first tenants are scheduled to move in around mid-2017.
IATA Innovation Award winner announced
This year, IATA’s ninth annual World Cargo Symposium held the inaugural Innovation Award ceremony, intended to honour individuals and companies that have created products or services aimed at making the air cargo business more competitive when compared to other modes of transportation.
The three finalists for the awards included: CANTrack, a self-powered GPS-trackable ULD developed by CHEP Aerospace Solutions; CLIVE, an intuitive decision support tool; and Cargo Claims, an online claim management developed by CargoHub. The winner, chosen by the delegates, was CANTrack. Floris Kleijn, CHEP IT director, was awarded a trophy and a US$20,000 prize.
A new rival to Gulf carriers
Turkish Airlines is upping its cargo game to challenge the three main Gulf carriers: Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Turkish Airlines are basing their campaign on four main factors: location, market share, capacity and customer service. The most critical is geography. Like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad, Turkish Airlines has geography on its side, with Istanbul having one foot in Europe and the other in the Middle East.
Currently, Turkish Cargo has a network of more than 260 destinations and is aiming to carry 775,000 tonnes by the end of this year. It has also recently opened a new cargo terminal which has 250 per cent more operational space and a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes. The new terminal measures 45,000 square metres, which is 10,000 square metres more than Dubai World Central. By 2020, Turkish Cargo aims to increase its freighter fleet from nine to 15 and to carry 1.5 million tonnes.
Oman Air and Cargolux form partnership
Oman Air and Cargolux have signed a letter of intent which will enable Cargolux to use Oman Air’s facilities in Muscat, Salalah and Sohar. This agreement, which is being seen as Oman Air’s move to expand its cargo operations, will enable Cargolux Airlines to begin full freighter service from Luxembourg to India via Oman as from April 15.
Following the programme rollout, Cargolux plans to increase frequencies to Oman to several each week, with connections to Chennai, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Cargolux is also considering other connections to Europe, China, Africa and the US.