Many cargo owners want to replenish supplies at the start of the week. Mondays are busy days at the container port.
We are on the bridge of the Energizer, together with Captain Fred de Hoogh. The Energizer has docked after a 36-hour voyage from Rotterdam to Oslo. The captain closely monitors the unloading and loading operations. Green, red, and blue 40-foot containers are lifted from the deck by three monumental electric cranes, each performing 25 lifts per hour.
- Now it is going really fast because they have three cranes going. Normally it´s just two. Somehow they´re in a hurry with us, they want to get rid of us, says Fred de Hoogh (52) jokingly.
The containers float past the windows of the wheelhouse. On the quay, they are placed on terminal tractors and driven to the container stack. Soon, the valuable cargo can be transported the final stretch to the cargo owners.
Incredible Milestone
The Port of Oslo’s arrival statistics show that 439 of the 500 voyages the Energizer has made for Unifeeder have been between Rotterdam and Oslo. In 2024, the Energizer called at Oslo 35 times from Rotterdam. The ship thus plays a central role in the supply of goods to Oslo and Eastern Norway.
- Over the last 25 years, JR Shipping Group and Unifeeder has built up a close business relationship and an ongoing cooperation. Unifeeder employed a lot a different JR feeder vessels in a wide range of its services. But nothing of the likes of the Energizer being in this trade for so long. 500 voyages - this is something which we are very proud of. In our industry this is also quite unique, says Sander Schakelaar, managing owner at JR Shipping Group, in connection with the anniversary.
The Right Ship for the Right Route
Shipping companies and logistics providers like JR Shipping and Unifeeder continuously work to optimize their route offerings for their customers. To succeed in an industry with tight margins, it is crucial to choose the right ship for the right sailing route.
The Energizer has a capacity of 750 twenty-foot containers. Additionally, the ship is capable of handling all types of containers. Not only standard twenty-foot and forty-foot containers, but also tank containers, refrigerated containers, and the North European door-to-door transport boxes of 45-foot length.
- This success was built on Energizer being well suited for the cargo volume and the mix of containers in this specific trade. But foremost, because our crew on board is offering Unifeeder and the ports an excellent service level. On this vessel, two of our most experienced captains are active, and they have been working on the Energizer in this trade from the beginning. In the end, it is all about offering our charterers an excellent performance, says Schakelaar.
Important for the Supply of Goods
The Energizer is 134 meters long and sails under the Dutch flag. The blue and white painted ship has been docked at the innermost part of the 665-meter-long quay at Yilport Oslo.
In front of the Energizer, the equally long, gray and red painted container ship Bianca Rambow is moored. Both ships are in Oslo on assignments for Unifeeder, a Danish founder multimodal logistics provider offering door-to-door transport solutions by combining sea and land transport in Europe, The Mediterranean Sea, The Black Sea and America.
8-10 times a week, ships from Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Klaipeda, Immingham, Rotterdam, and Hamburg call at the container terminal at Sjursøya. The lines are serviced by the shipping companies Unifeeder, Samskip, Viasea, and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
While the Energizer has arrived in Oslo from Rotterdam this Monday, the Bianca Rambow has come from Hamburg.
Both the Energizer and Bianca Rambow are listed in the vessel overview on Unifeeder’s website, but neither ship is owned by Unifeeder. The Energizer belongs to the Dutch shipping company JR Shipping, while the Bianca Rambow is owned by the German Reederei Rambow. The ships are part of a large fleet that Unifeeder charters on short or long contracts to offer flexible multimodal services in sea and land transport.
The Energizer usually operates on the route between Rotterdam and Oslo. The ship stops in Moss and Kristiansand or Fredrikstad and Brevik on the return trip.
The Bianca Rambow is based in Hamburg and is often used on the route Oslo-Drammen-Larvik-Kristiansand-Brevik-Hamburg-Oslo.
Experienced Seaman
After a long life at sea, Captain Fred de Hoogh has gained extensive experience and a well-deserved confidence as a seaman. For the first four years of his life, Fred lived with his parents on a river barge. Later, the family moved into a house in a village by the Rhine, while his father continued his career as a captain on the river barge. At the age of eighteen, Fred began maritime college in Rotterdam.
- In the beginning, I also wanted to work on river barges, but I did well in school, so I chose to go to sea because the education was at a higher level, similar to university. I went to sea and eventually ended up at JR Shipping, which is still my employer, says the captain.
When Fred and his crew are in Rotterdam, they visit several terminals to pick up cargo. The Rotterdam Shortsea Terminal (RST) - Europe’s largest shortsea shipping hub - is strategically located in the heart of the port. Europoort, a deep-water port at the mouth of the Rhine and Maas rivers, is located at the entrance from the North Sea to Rotterdam.
- First, we go to RST in the city, then to Europoort, where we have two to three terminals. Then we return to RST. Since the quays are sometimes occupied, we often have to dock elsewhere and wait, so it’s busy with movements.
The experienced captain is exempt from pilotage, so he sails without a pilot and navigates himself in the busy port of Rotterdam.
- In Rotterdam, it’s not only sea-going vessels. We also have a lot of river barges to relate to when navigating. Rotterdam is a very busy port. It can be a really tough port when it is foggy or windy.
Although the open sea voyage from Rotterdam to Oslo is considered routine, tough weather conditions in the North Sea and Skagerrak can pose challenges for the ship and crew.
- When we leave Rotterdam, we first sail to the north. At Hanstholm in Skagerrak, we turn to starboard and sail to the east in the direction of the Oslofjord. Actually, in general, it is two courses from Rotterdam to Oslo. The more you go to the north, towards the Oslofjord, the quieter it will be with less traffic.
Shore Power and Green Corridors
A green corridor is an emission-free logistics route from start to finish. Green corridors in shipping start with shore power. Renewable fuels combined with batteries as range extenders create green corridors.
From 2030, container shipping companies in the EU are required to use shore power while docked.
Yilport Oslo is responsible for the daily operations of the container terminal at Sjursøya. The Port of Oslo is the landowner and is responsible for investments in necessary infrastructure such as cranes and quay maintenance.
In line with the Port of Oslo’s zero-emission vision, we are now building a shore power facility for container ships, which will be ready by summer 2025.
In 2024, forty-seven different container ships called at Yilport Oslo, with a total of 553 calls. Of these, ten ships had more than twenty calls, totaling 339 calls. Currently, none of the container ships are ready to connect to the facility.
- The fact that a small selection of ships accounts for a significant portion of the container traffic between Oslo and the continent gives grounds for optimism regarding the use of the shore power facility at the container terminal. We only need one or two container ships on shore power initially. Once the barrier is broken, more will likely follow, says Heidi Neilson, acting director of Planning and Development at the Port of Oslo.
The Port of Oslo is actively working to assist the first container shipping companies that want to retrofit their ships for shore power.
- We have obtained quotes from suppliers for retrofitting container ships for shore power. The quote shows that the retrofit can be done for half a million. This is money the shipping companies will relatively quickly save on lower port fees if they use shore power, says Neilson.
Although there are no immediate plans to retrofit the Energizer for shore power, Unifeeder states that they are actively working with the ship’s owners to ensure that the ships will be ready for shore power in the future.
We have an ambition to use the shore power facility. Our goal is for all our ships to be ready for shore power by 2030, says Hegaard at Unifeeder.
JR Shipping also confirms that they have ambitions to use the new shore power facility at the container port.
- We are certainly looking into this and have the ambition to do so. It would be a positive development, says Sander Schakelaar, managing owner at JR Shipping Group.
Existing and Future Fuels
Sea transport of goods in containers is an energy-efficient mode of transport. The container ships calling at Yilport Oslo play an important role in reducing emissions far beyond the city’s borders.
Unifeeder states that sea transport on the route between Rotterdam and Oslo has approximately 80% lower CO2 emissions compared to road transport. For a load of just over four thousand tons of goods, this corresponds to a reduction of about 286 tons of CO2, according to calculations from Carboncare.
Unifeeder aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Reduced sailing speed and efficient unloading and loading operations are crucial to achieving these goals.
- On all routes, we optimize the speed of the ships so that they arrive precisely at their scheduled operation times. In Oslo, we specifically stow for a 2-crane operation, ensuring faster and more efficient handling. At the same time, we optimize the stowage of the containers to ensure that the ships can be serviced quickly in the ports. This reduces the time spent in ports and allows for sailing at lower, more energy-efficient speeds between ports, says Hegaard at Unifeeder.
The Energizer has recently been in dry dock and received a premium coating, which reduces water resistance and thus the ship’s fuel consumption.
Unifeeder has initiated a project to evaluate which future alternative fuels should be part of the company’s strategy.
- This requires careful consideration of supply security, necessary investments, and the development of ships that can sail on these new energy forms. We are also actively working with drop-in fuels like biofuels, which can be used in our existing ships without major technical modifications, says Hegaard.
A drop-in fuel is a renewable fuel that can be used directly in existing engines and infrastructure without the need for modifications. JR Shipping is also making technical adjustments to its ships to reduce energy consumption.
- We already have invested in an exhaust gas filter installation on board most of our vessels. In the future, this installation will even offer the possibility to capture CO2 from the exhaust gases. Efficiency-wise, we already try to minimize fuel consumption (and subsequent emissions) by optimizing the voyage planning and avoiding sailing at unnecessarily high speeds, says Schakelaar.
The Energizer and other ships built in the early 2000s were designed to perform best at a maximum speed of around 17 knots. Today, the ships mostly sail at speeds between 13 and 15 knots.
- With hindsight, some of the vessel’s features like the bulbous bow and the shape of the propeller blades should thus have been designed differently. With the intended retrofitting, we will optimize things for the new service reality. That is much better. Fuel consumption savings of up to 25% will be possible, resulting in much fewer emissions, saving money, and preserving the climate, Schakelaar says.
Departure
On the bridge of the Energizer, preparations for departure are nearly complete after a successful and efficient unloading and loading operation. Fred de Hoogh sits ready in the captain’s chair.
- This lever provides propulsion, while this is the thruster that allows me to maneuver sideways and move out with the bow. From the bridge, I need to communicate with the crew who will release the moorings on my signal, he says.
Fred is accompanied by three officers who share the tasks of maneuvering the ship. At sea, they work in four-hour shifts, followed by eight hours off.
- I handle the maneuvering part, such as sailing out from Rotterdam or the Oslofjord. The most challenging part is during winter when the weather is bad. Then we really have to consider our options – should we go through the Kiel Canal, depart a little later, or make other adjustments? These decisions are crucial because bad weather can be tough on the cargo, the crew, and the vessel - as everything has its limits, concludes Fred de Hoogh, the dedicated and experienced captain of the container ship MV Energizer.