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Ferry operator DFDS has axed its freight service between Rosyth and Zeebrugge in Belgium following a fire on one of its ships.

The vessel is out of action following the blaze in an engine room and the ferry company said it had been unable to find a suitable replacement.

It was a loss-making route for DFDS and it said it had now "lost all hope" of reversing its fortunes.

The firm said it had "no alternative" but to close the route.

The Scottish government said Humza Yousaf, the transport secretary, would seek to hold urgent discussions with the company following the announcement.

A spokesman added that the minister wanted to fully understand the situation and "explore all options for the route".

DFDS said the fire broke out on its ro-ro freight ship Finlandia Seaways on 16 April.

One crew member was injured in the blaze. He was airlifted to hospital where he is being treated for injuries caused by smoke inhalation.

The ship was towed to Immingham, Lincolnshire, where the cargo was removed and an inspection was carried out.

In a statement Kell Robdrup, of DFDS, said: "The inspection revealed substantial damage to the ship's engine room, and we estimate that it will be out of service for several months for repairs.

"Furthermore, our search for a replacement vessel was fruitless and revealed that there are no suitable ships available.

"Unfortunately, this will bring about further losses on the route, and it means that we have lost all hope of being able to turn around the route's loss-making situation.

"Therefore, we have no alternative but to close the route as we undoubtedly will lose clients who will be forced to seek alternative solutions for their transport."

'Reopening unrealistic'

He said DFDS was "extremely sorry" for the effect the decision would have in Scotland and Belgium.

The closure would affect a "very limited number of people" employed by the ferry company, he added.

"In cooperation with the Scottish government and the port, we have tried everything in our power to save the route," he said.

"This included going from a combined passenger and cargo ship to a freight ship, reducing costs by enabling double stacking of containers and reducing fuel costs by installing a scrubber to remove sulphur from the exhaust gas instead of using expensive, low-sulphur fuel.

"However, the route continued to make losses. And with the new situation with the ship out of service for months, the market, the customers and the financial situation will be negatively affected, and make a turnaround and a reopening unrealistic."

The freight service between Rosyth and Zeebrugge has been operating since 2002.

Charles Hammond, group chief executive of Forth Ports, which operates the Port of Rosyth, said they were "very disappointed" by the closure.

He added: "Scotland remains well connected with continental Europe through the range of multimodal services operating from the Port of Grangemouth.

"Grangemouth is Scotland's largest container terminal and provides connectivity to locations in the UK, mainland Europe and the rest of the world through its feeder network. We will work hard to ensure that as many affected customers as possible can be accommodated from Grangemouth.

"The Port of Rosyth is among Scotland's best connected ports, with a range of opportunities currently being explored for the port as a whole." </s> The freight ferry service from the port of Rosyth to Zeebrugge in Belgium has been closed after its operators said they had “lost all hope” of being able turn around the lossmaking route.

The demise of the crossing, which has been a freight-only service for the past eight years, was hastened by a fire which broke out onboard the Finlandia Seaways freight ship last week.

The blaze, which left one crew member injured, put the vessel out of operation for several months.

In the wake of the incident, DFDS Seaways, one of Europe’s largest shipping and logistics firms, said it had decided to end the service altogether.

In what represents a blow for Scottish trade at a time when uncertainty surrounding Brexit remains rife, the firm’s senior president, Kell Robdrup, said it had been left with no alternative.

“We are extremely sorry for the effect this has on our customers and partners in Scotland and Belgium,” he said.

“In cooperation with the Scottish Government and the port, we have tried everything in our power to save the route.

“This included going from a combined passenger and cargo ship to a freight ship, reducing costs by enabling double stacking of containers and reducing fuel costs by installing a scrubber to remove sulphur from the exhaust gas instead of using expensive, low-sulphur fuel.

“However, the route continued to make losses. And with the new situation with the ship out of service for months, the market, the customers and the financial situation will be negatively affected, and make a turnaround and a reopening unrealistic.”

The collapse of the route brings to an end its 16 year long history. It began operating as a combined freight and passenger ferry service in 2002, only to be reduced to a freight-only crossing in 2010 after DFDS cited insufficient passenger demand.

The timetable for the service’s full closure was quickened by last Monday’s fire in the engine room of the Finlandia Seaways ro-ro ship.

The injured crew member was airlifted to hospital where he is being treated for injuries caused by smoke inhalation.

A subsequent inspection identified “substantial damage” to the vessel, with Mr Robdrup stating it would be out of service for “several months” for repair work.

He added: “Our search for a replacement vessel was fruitless and revealed that there are no suitable ships available.

“Unfortunately, this will bring about further losses on the route, and it means that we have lost all hope of being able to turn around the route’s loss-making situation.

Charles Hammond, group chief executive of Forth Ports, which owns and operates the port at Rosyth, said: “We are of course very disappointed that DFDS has closed the Rosyth to Zeebrugge freight ferry service.

“The service has a long history at Rosyth, operating since 2002, but has faced a number of challenges over the years.”

He stressed Scotland remained “well connected” with continental Europe via Grangemouth, the nation’s largest container terminal, and said it would “work hard” to ensure as many customers as possible could be accommodated via Grangemouth.

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The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container's move to rescue the migrants is part of "an ancient code of conduct," according to Linnet.

"It's not the first time...they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years," he told AFP.

Italy's new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships -- Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, -- would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation "into their legal status". </s> The world’s leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a distress signal early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP.

He did not specify where exactly the migrants were rescued.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

The Maersk container’s move to rescue the migrants is part of “an ancient code of conduct,” according to Linnet.

“It’s not the first time… they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years,” he told AFP.

Italy’s new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships — Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, — would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation “into their legal status”. </s> Rome, June 22 - The Italian port authority on Friday made a formal request for Malta to allow the NGO-run migrant-rescue ship Lifeline to dock at a port on the Mediterranean island, government sources said. The Dutch-flagged ship, run by German NGO Mission Lifeline, may be set to be at the centre of an international wrangle like that which involved another NGO-run migrant-rescue vessel, the Aquarius, which ended up docking in Valencia last week after Italy and Malta refused it access to ports. Italian Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday accused the Lifeline of "operating in Libyan waters outside all rules, outside international law" after it took on 224 asylum seekers. Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the Lifeline should go to the Netherlands. On Thursday the Netherlands denied reports that the Lifeline and another NGO-run migrant-rescue ship, the Seefuchs, are sailing under Dutch flags. However, on Friday Mission Lifeline said in a tweet that its ship has been registered in the Netherlands since September 2017, attaching a photograph of a registration document. It also said Thursday's rescue operation took place in international waters. Salvini said for "the safety of the crew and passengers" Italy had asked Malta to open its ports. "It is clear that the ship will then have to be impounded and the crew members arrested. No more trafficking by sea," he added. Salvini, who is also deputy premier and League leader, has spearheaded the tough stance on migrants and NGOs operating humanitarian missions in the Mediterranean of the new League/5-Star Movement (M5S) government. </s> Nordic low-cost airline Primera Air has ceased all operations and is expected to go into administration.

Stansted said travellers due to fly with the airline should not travel to the airport, from which Primera operated flights to Spain and the US.

Stansted told the company it would seize one aircraft, which was already on the ground and was not due to fly on Monday, because of unpaid bills.

Birmingham Airport referred customers to the Civil Aviation Authority advice, which urged those expecting return flights to the UK with the operator to make fresh arrangements home.

Primera, which has operated for 15 years, began offering flights for £99 across the Atlantic from Stansted to New York, Boston, Washington, and Toronto this year.

In a leaked email sent to news organisations, including Sky News, Primera's director of operations Anders Ludvigson, said the airline would file for bankruptcy on 2 October and stranded crews would be found accommodation.

The airline was forced to cancel flights from Birmingham to America because of a delayed aircraft.

It later decided to end operations from Birmingham altogether, leaving many people out of pocket for their purchased tickets.

On its website, Primera said: "Airline Primera Air and IATA codes PF and 6F have been suspended as of today, October 2nd, 2018."

"On this sad day we are saying goodbye to all of you.

"Kindly understand that the usual options for contacts (via email or phone) can not be offered any longer."

Primera Air, which is Icelandic-owned but based in Copenhagen, began in 2003 and served more than 20 countries.

Mr Ludvigson blamed the airline's collapse on the high cost of leasing planes after the delivery of new planes was delayed.

A London Stansted Airport spokesperson said: "We have learned this afternoon that Primera Air has ceased all flight operations and will go into administration at midnight tonight.

"Passengers due to travel with Primera Air are advised not to travel to the airport and instead contact the airline direct for the latest information regarding their flight.

"We understand this is a difficult time for customers whose travel plans have been disrupted and we are providing information and assistance to those who have already travelled to the airport for flights that had been due to depart today."

The Foreign Office said its consulate in Malaga had already been contacted for advice by a Briton. </s> The world’s leading container shipping company Danish Maersk Line on Saturday said one of its vessels rescued 113 migrants off the coast of southern Italy.

The container ship called Alexander Maersk changed its course after picking up a distress signal early Friday, Mikkel Elbek Linnet, spokesman at Maersk Line, told AFP.

He did not specify where exactly the migrants were rescued.

The vessel is currently situated off the coast of the Sicilian town of Pozzallo and awaiting instructions from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Rome).

The Maersk container’s move to rescue the migrants is part of “an ancient code of conduct,” according to Linnet.

“It’s not the first time… they have picked up migrants two or three times before in recent years,” he told AFP.

Italy’s new populist government has threatened to seize several other ships carrying migrants, sparking a row with the EU.

Infrastructure minister Danilo Toninelli on Thursday said that two rescue migrant ships — Lifeline, run by the German NGO Mission Lifeline, and Seefuchs, run by the German NGO Sea-Eye, — would be seized and directed to Italian ports for investigation “into their legal status”. </s> A iconic piece of the United Kingdom's industrial heritage is set to be lost forever today when the Belfast shipyard which built the Titanic closes its massive steel gates for the final time after 130 years.

Harland and Wolff, founded in 1861 and one of Northern Ireland's most historic brands, is set to fold after its trouble-hit Norwegian parent company Dolphin Drilling failed to find a buyer.

Its mighty 300ft-tall yellow gantry cranes, named after Biblical fighters Samson and Goliath, have towered over the Belfast skyline since their construction in the late 1960s and in its heyday the dock employed close to 35,000 workers.

It launched the White Star Line's other Olympic Class liners - the Olympic and the Britannic - as well as HMS Belfast, the Royal Navy cruiser which now lies at anchor as a museum near Tower Bridge in London.

But after decades of decline of heavy industry across the UK, and having narrowly missed out on the contract to build the Queen Mary II in 2003, the dock has struggled to remain viable despite diversifying into wind energy and marine engineering projects. 



A well-publicised campaign by the GMB union on behalf of the 125 remaining staff called on the government to 'save our shipyard', but despite a week-long occupation of the site by staff facing redundancy the famous yard is due to cease trading at 5.15pm this afternoon.

The shipbuilder diversified away from shipbuilding in the last two decades and until recently had primarily worked on wind energy and marine engineering projects.

Famed for building the doomed White Star liner Titanic, which sank on its maiden transatlantic voyage in 1912 after striking an iceberg, Harland and Wolff was one of the UK's key industrial producers during the Second World War, supplying almost 150 warships.

It also built the SS Canberra, the mighty cruise liner which was used as a troop transport to ferry British soldiers to the Falkland Islands during the 1982 conflict.

Workers have called on the Government to step in to rescue the operation, potentially through nationalisation.

But the Government has declined to intervene, insisting the issue is a commercial one.

Officials insist that EU State Aid rules limit the scope to offer financial support through public funds.

Speculation around potential eleventh-hour bidders has so far proved unfounded, with no-one tabling an offer to stave off administration.

Workers are due to meet this afternoon when they will decide whether to continue the occupation and prevent administrators accessing the site.

This morning administrators arrived for a meeting with workers, who have maintained a round-the-clock demonstration at the gates of the historic shipyard for a week in hopes of a last-minute deal to save it.

With just hours to go until trading is due to officially cease at 5.15pm, workers are holding meetings with the administrators and later with DUP leader Arlene Foster at Stormont.

They will also meet DUP leader Arlene Foster at Stormont to discuss the situation.

Barry Reid, shop steward with the GMB union and a Harland and Wolff steel worker, questioned the contention that EU state aid rules prevented Government intervention.

'It's a waiting game today, we are waiting to hear news,' he said.

'The Government keeps quoting European law – that's all we get out of them, European law. It's very strange when on October 31 we are out of Europe, so why are they hiding behind European law when they don't want to believe in European law?'

Ulster Unionist MLA Andy Allen has been at the gates of Harland and Wolff where workers are maintaining their week-long demonstration and said it is not too late for a last-minute rescue for the shipyard.

'We're heading towards the final hours but it's still not too late to deliver a solution for the workforce,' he said.

'We have seen empty platitudes from the Government so far, they need to step up to the mark, they really need to take this by the mantle and deliver for this workforce, the Secretary of State hiding behind Europe and the Prime Minister not coming out and delivering for this workforce will have a massive impact and massive ramification for the wider community here in east Belfast, but not only east Belfast, right across Northern Ireland.

'We as politicians need to step up to the mark, I've said before I believe it is a dereliction of duty that we are not up there in the Assembly delivering for the men and women of the shipyard and the rest of the manufacturing industry right across Northern Ireland and indeed every family, we have 125,000 people on the hospital waiting list and we are failing them. It is not acceptable.' </s> A cruise ship crashed into a tourist boat and then into a dock in Venice, Italy on Sunday after suffering an engine failure.

Video posted to social media showed passengers escaping from the tourist boat and running down the dock as the cruise ship rapidly approached.

The 13-deck MSC Opera rammed into the dock with its horns blaring, injuring five tourists, according to the AP. Two tugboats tried to guide the cruise ship, but were unable to prevent it from crashing.

“Earlier this morning, at around 8.30 AM CET, MSC Opera – while maneuvering towards Venice’s VTP cruise terminals for mooring – experienced a technical issue. Albeit the ship was accompanied by two tugs, she grazed the dock at San Basilio. This also caused a collision with a river boat that was moored there. “The investigations to understand the exact causes of the events are currently in progress. Regarding these, the company is working closely with the local maritime and other authorities. “The ship has in the meantime received authorization to move to be moored at the Marittima terminal, as planned. She is now moored there and has begun passenger operations.”

“When we saw the ship bearing down on us, everyone began shouting and running,” said a sailor who was on the tourist boat, according to AFP. “I didn’t know what to do. I got away quickly, jumping to get on shore.”

“The MSC ship had an engine failure, which was immediately reported by the captain,” said Davide Calderan, the head of one of the tugboats accompanying the cruise ship, according to AFP and Italian media.

“The engine was blocked, but with its thrust on, because the speed was increasing,” he continued.

The MSC Opera can carry more than 2,675 passengers, and according to its sailing schedule, the ship left Venice on May 26 and traveled to Kotor, Montenegro, and Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece before returning on Sunday to Venice.

Sunday’s collision adds to growing criticism of cruise ships in Venice, where the large vessels crowd waterways, block views and create waves that risk damage to the city’s buildings and infrastructure.

“What happened in the port of Venice is confirmation of what we have been saying for some time,” Italy’s environment minister Sergio Costa wrote on Twitter. “Cruise ships must not sail down the Giudecca. We have been working on moving them for months now… and are nearing a solution.”

Nicola Fratoianni, an MP with the Italian Left party, tweeted that Italy’s allowance of massive cruise ships contrasted with its efforts to stop rescue boats carrying migrants.

“It is truly curious that a country that tries to stop ships that have saved people at sea from entering its ports allows giant steel monsters to risk carnage in Venice,” he said.
Ferry operator DFDS has discontinued their Rosyth – Zeebrugge ferry service. DFDS says it is no longer profitable to operate the route. The change follows a fire aboard the MV Finlandia Seaways a day before. The Scottish government seeks urgent talks between DFDS and Transport Secretary Humza Yousaf.