Moreover, the liners, still awash with cash generated over the past two years and with surplus capacity snapped up on the second-hand vessel S&P market, are minded to deploy their own tonnage for spoke-hub relays and the ad-hoc feeder parcels which add the jam to the bread-and-butter of the liner feeds. Notwithstanding the war in Ukraine, which has significantly affected cargo demand in the Baltic, feeder operators plying traditional feeder routes in the North Sea and Irish Sea are having to manage lower volumes and tougher budgeting demands from ocean carrier client procurement officers. The consultant said DP World subsidiary Unifeeder had streamlined its services connecting North Europe with the Baltic region since the end of last year after “a serious drop in cargo demand in the Far East to North Europe trade” impacted its feeder volumes. Shortsea shipping lines in Northern Europe are facing a fight for survival as demand weakens and rates plummet.Īs in the deepsea sector, shortsea container carriers and feeder lines are having to adjust to a reduction in demand across their networks.įor example, according to Alphaliner data, Aarhus-based Unifeeder has reduced its capacity by more than 25,000 teu in the past year, a 17.9% decline in its fleet.
