News / As deepsea rates dive, carriers hunt for intra-Europe shortsea returns

Photo: VesselFinder

With the major deepsea trades in the doldrums, container lines are looking more closely at niche shortsea markets to support their growth aspirations.

European shortsea services, such as Ellerman City Liners’ North Europe to Iberia routes and WEC Lines’ new Euro-Maroc service, which launches this month, are not only confirmation of demand, but also that sustainable freight rates can be achieved on intra-Europe routes.

And as ocean carriers idle their huge newbuild deliveries, due to poor demand prospects on the Asia-Europe and ...