Displaying items by tag: Fleet Expansion

21st March 2016

CLdN Ro-Ro Continues to Expand with Pair of Newbuilds

CLdN Ro-Ro continues with expansion by ordering more newbuilds

#MoreOrders - CLdN Ro-Ro SA which operates between Dublin and northern European ports has now confirmed two more vessels have been ordered, with options for a further four, through the Croatian shipbuilder Uljanik.

The orders according to Multimodal, follow an ambitious fleet expansion programme announced last September by the Luxembourg based short-sea operator.

Currently CLdN RoRo SA operate 24 modern RoRo vessels, offering in excess of 100 sailings per week between the ports of Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, London, Killingholme, Dublin, Gothenburg, Esbjerg and Porto had previously announced its intention to add 12 new vessels to its fleet over the coming years.

CLdN, whose core services have traditionally been the Continent /UK, which commenced in December 1974, have steadily expanded their geographical presence into new markets, including Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal in recent years

The initial orders, being built at the Korean yard of Hyundai were described as ‘Game changers’ at the time of order, offering 8,000 lane meters of Ro-Ro capacity. The additional orders are of the same flexible and radical design and offer 5400 lane meters, to accommodate high utilisation of trailers, containers and automotive products in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner, being ‘’LNG ready’’ for straightforward conversion to LNG propulsion.

A company spokesperson described the additional orders as the ‘workhorses’ of the expanding fleet, as they have the durability and flexibility to operate on any of the network and offer complete interchangeability to cater for the demands of the differing trades.

The company sees this as giving a key advantage in this segment and allows it to adapt to customer demands or changing market conditions very rapidly.

These orders fit with CLdN's ambition to develop an additional 70% capacity over the next four years and the Ports Division, C.Ro Ports has now embarked on preparing Terminal infrastructure to be ready for the arrival of the new ships, which will commence delivery Quarter 3 2017.

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Ireland & La Solitaire du Figaro

The Solitaire du Figaro, was originally called the course de l’Aurore until 1980, was created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault.

Half a decade later, the race has created some of France's top offshore sailors, and it celebrated its 50th anniversary with a new boat equipped with foils and almost 50 skippers Including novices, aficionados and six former winners.

The solo multi-stage offshore sailing race is one of the most cherished races in French sailing and one that has had Irish interest stretching back over 20 years due to the number of Irish stopovers, usually the only foreign leg of the French race.

What Irish ports have hosted The Solitaire du Figaro?

The race has previously called to Ireland to the following ports; Dingle, Kinsale, Crosshaven, Howth and Dun Laoghaire.

What Irish sailors have raced The Solitaire du Figaro?

So far there have been seven Irish skippers to participate in La Solitaire du Figaro.

In 1997, County Kerry's Damian Foxall first tackled the Figaro from Ireland. His win in the Rookie division in DHL gave him the budget to compete again the following year with Barlo Plastics where he won the final leg of the race from Gijon to Concarneau. That same year a second Irish sailor Marcus Hutchinson sailing Bergamotte completed the course in 26th place and third Rookie.

In 2000, Hutchinson of Howth Yacht Club completed the course again with IMPACT, again finishing in the twenties.

In 2006, Paul O’Riain became the third Irish skipper to complete the course.

In 2013, Royal Cork's David Kenefick raised the bar by becoming a top rookie sailor in the race.

In 2018, for the first time, Ireland had two Irish boats in the offshore race thanks to Tom Dolan and Joan Mulloy who joined the rookie ranks and kept the Irish tricolour flying high in France. Mulloy became the first Irish female to take on the race.

Tom Dolan in Smurfit Kappa competed for his third year in 2020 after a 25th place finish in 2019. Dolan sailed a remarkably consistent series in 2020 and took fifth overall, the best finish by a non-French skipper since 1997 when Switzerland’s Dominique Wavre finished runner up. Dolan wins the VIVI Trophy.

Dolan finished 10th on the first stage, 11th on the second and seventh into Saint Nazaire at the end of the third stage. Stage four was abandoned due to lack of wind.

Also in 2020, Dun Laoghaire’s Kenneth Rumball became the eleventh Irish sailor to sail the Figaro.

At A Glance – Figaro Race

It starts in June or July from a French port.
The race is split into four stages varying from year to year, from the length of the French coast and making up a total of around 1,500 to 2,000 nautical miles (1,700 to 2,300 mi; 2,800 to 3,700 km) on average.
Over the years the race has lasted between 10 and 13 days at sea.
The competitor is alone in the boat, participation is mixed.
Since 1990, all boats are of one design.