Echo Freight News
December, 2007 - Meeting The Need By: Stephen Clare - Source : (Port of Halifax Magazine ) Meeting The Need Nirint Shipping and the Port of Halifax have forged a lucrative partnership, serving niche markets and unique routes  Nirint Shipping has found success in the Port Of Halifax by offering unique routes and connections. Every successful business follows the same basic model: find a need and fill it. In the Port of Halifax, no company better exemplifies this maxim than Nirint Shipping. Established in 1992 as an independent carrier, Nirint is a member of the Netherlands-based Fondel Group, which is highly active in a variety of sectors including metal trading, shipping, retail and environmental services. Along with providing a primary European service between Halifax and Moerdijk, Holland, and Bilboa, Spain, Nirint operates a secondary Caribbean Service sailing from Montreal and Halifax to Dominican Republic and Cuba, plus other Central American and Caribbean destinations on inducement. The company's ships have called on the Port of Halifax since the early 1990s, becoming a regular bi-weekly visitor by 2003. Four of Nirint's six multipurpose heavy-lift vessels currently call, including Nirint Pride, Nirint Atlas and Nirint Champion.Recently, the added another vessel to its European service through the port; the Nirint Hollandia is a general-purpose ship equipped with two, 80-tonne cranes designed for heavy-project cargo. The vessel also has a capacity of up to 686 TEUs. "We've recently come a long way in a very short time" says Elias Hage, director of Echo Freght in Montreal, Nirint's exclusive  Canadian agent. "We've been very deliberate  and strategic in our development and, as a result, have enjoyed tremendous growth over the last half-decade. "We've recently come a long way in a very short time" says Elias Hage, director of Echo Freght in Montreal, Nirint's exclusive Canadian agent. "We've been very deliberate and strategic in our development and, as a result, have enjoyed tremendous growth over the last half-decade. "The company's ships have called on the Port of Halifax since the early 1990s, becoming a regular bi-weekly visitor by 2003. Four of Nirint's six multipurpose heavy-lift vessels currently call, including Nirint Pride, Nirint Atlas and Nirint Champion.Recently, the added another vessel to its European service through the port;  the Nirint Hollandia is a general-purpose ship equipped  with two, 80-tonne cranes designed for heavy-project cargo. The vessel also has a capacity of up to 686 TEUs. "We've recently come a long way in a very short time" says Elias Hage, director of Echo Freght in Montreal, Nirint's exclusive Canadian agent. "We've been very deliberate and strategic in our development and, as a result, have enjoyed tremendous growth over the last half-decade." Much of that growth is thanks to the company's strong working relationship with the Port of Halifax. Currently Nirint is the only regional carrier to use as many as three of the facility's terminals, calling on Piers 9, 27 and 36."We are very pleased with the wonderful support we have recieved from the Halifax Port Authority," he says. "They have consistently met and srpassed our expectations by providing us with both excellent facilites and services." The feeling is mutual. "Nirint has become an excellent partner," says Patrick Bohan manager of business development with the Halifax Port authority. "Becuase of their ability to service unique routes, they bring a real value-add for the Port, opening up new markets for our existing and potential clients. We are very excited about their fture plans and look forward to working with them more closely to develop more opportunities for the Port."   Nirint offers regular conventional/break-bulk/container service to Europe and he Caribbean for a wide variety of mainstream products- including steel, lumber, forestry products, pipes, project cargo, and ro/ro. And now it also provides conections to the both the Mediterranean and Middle East. "Our initial studies show that there is tremendous potential for us in the emerging marketplaces surrounding the Mediterrenean, Adriatic  and Black Sea regions," says Hage. "We are quite pleased to now be in a position to offer Canadian companies the possibility of exploring opportunities in parts of the world that might not have been previously accessible." He adds that Beirut, Tripoli, Alexandria, Joddah, and Dubai are now all open for business.   That recent expansion is just one of several new initiatives currently being undertaken by the cargo carrier. This past September, Nirint announced a direct and expanded conventional / breakbulk / container service from Halifax to Cuba and other Caribbean ports on inducement. Sailing once every two weeks, the vessel, which has a capacity of 377 TEUs and a crane capacity of 67 tonnes, wil call into the cuban ports of Moa, Havana and Matanzas.  Those developments illustrate how Nirint is actively bringing business oportunities to Atlantic Canada. "The potential in the wood pulp and lumber cargo business along the East Coast is enormous," says Hage. "There are plenty of good working facilities located throughout New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia that are more than capable of meeting our needs. We are now working to build up our capacities out of Halifax and we are expecting to see a major increase in movement for this product in the years ahead." Bohan likes what he sees. "What Nirint is bringing to the region in terms of business development is ultimately good for the Port of Halifax," he says. "Expanding our options means that we will be seeing good opportunities for diversifying traffic through our facilities."   This increase in traffic means that Hage and his team can expect to become bigger players over the next decade. "2007 was an exceptional year for us, and 2008 is already shaping up to be another record breaking twelve month period," he says. "Our long term plans included exploring potential new markets around the world and growing our existing and new client base across Canada. The Port of Halifax is by far the best fit for us along the East Coast and their continued involvement with us looks to factor heavily into that future growth." The plan is for Nirint to continue growing its business by doing what the bigger shipping firms will not. "We might not be the largest carrier in the area," he admits, "but we what we do very well and have worked very hard to establish credibility in the marketplace with our commitment to providing on time and on target service. To our credit, we have been able to find a vital need in that market and fill it." Home  Top of page
October 30, 2007 - Nirint Shipping adds heavy-lifter By Tom Peters Business Reporter  Source:  (The Chronical Hearald, Nova Scotia) Nirint Shipping of Rotterdam has added another vessel to its European service through the Port of Halifax.     Elias Hage of Echo Freight of Montreal, agents for the Nirint line, said recently the addition of the Nirint Hollandia increases the number of ships in the service to three. The Nirint Hollandia, a new vessel launched this year, is a general-purpose ship equipped with two, 80-ton cranes designed for heavy-project cargo. The vessel can also carry up to 686 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units).     The service, which calls at a number of European ports, calls Halifax at Scotia Terminals two to three times per month. It specializes in oversized break-bulk cargo.     Nirint Shipping has a second service through Halifax that calls at ports in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the Gulf of Mexico and central Mexico. Mr. Hage said Nirint is trying to build up its wood pulp and lumber cargo business out of Halifax and expects to see more lumber move through the port next year. The line is also planning to add a fourth vessel to its European service next year and connect the service to routings to the Mediterranean via Europe.     Nirint made its first call to Halifax in the early 1990s and has been on a scheduled basis since 2002.
September 17, 2007- Nirint Line arrives in Saint John to export lumber to Ireland  By Christopher Williams  Source:  (Canadian Sailings) Netherlands-based Nirint Shipping made its inaugural entry into the Port of Saint John with the M/V Nirint Pride on Aug. 17.       A resurgence of lumber exports attracted the shipping line to the port and at least three additional calls are planned this year.      "Nirint is very interested in the Port of Saint John and the new business this relationship creates," said Elias Hage, director of Echo Freight, Nirint's exclusive agent in Canada based in Montreal.     The Nirint Pride docked at Lower Cove Terminal where Furncan Marine stevedores and the ships' cranes carefully manoeuvred 6,000 cubic metres of European   construction grade lumber.  "We are quite happy with this new business," said Murray Gorodensky, executive vice-president of Empire Stevedoring, the parent company of Furncan Marine. "The ship has its own gear and is box-shaped for this type of cargo, so it's good for the longshoremen and the Port of Saint John."      The ship arrived in Saint John from the Caribbean via Halifax. "We are very pleased to have secured another four ships to export between four and six thousand cubic metres per vessel to Bellview Port in Waterford, Ireland, just outside of Dublin," said Todd Pickard of New Brunswick wholesale lumber company Drakcip Inc. Earlier this year, Mr. Pickard, with the help of other transportation partners, began exporting lumber through Saint John for the first time in more than a decade.   "That separate traffic is continuing through the Port of Saint John as well," he noted. "There is another shipment in September taking lumber to the U.K." The Ireland-destined cargo was initiated by Business New Brunswick and the Canadian consulate in Ireland. "This is just the beginning," said Ed Doherty, MLA for Saint John Harbour, who was on hand for a reception held aboard the bridge of the ship. "With the increase in the Canadian dollar and the slowdown in the American housing markets, there are all sorts of opportunities in Europe. "If New Brunswick is going to be self-sufficient, we must continue to use the port, which the city was built around and is the jewel of our transportation system."     The cargo was part of a $6-million deal concluded by Fredericton-based lumber company M.L. Wilkins & Son Ltd. "This is the entire production of our mills," said Brent Wilkins, whose company employs 100 full-time workers year-round. Europe's traditional lumber sources in Scandinavia and Russia have been forced to cut back on harvesting. M.L. Wilkins was able to capitalize on that demand by adapting its plants to produce lumber according to European dimensions and grade.     A newcomer to Saint John, Nirint operates a European service as well as a Caribbean service that sails from the ports of Montreal and Halifax to the Dominican Republic and Cuba, as well as Central American and Caribbean destinations on inducement.     Nirint Shipping is a member of the Netherlands-based Fondel Group, which is active in metal trading, shipping, retail and environmental services. Echo Freight acts as its general agent in Canada. Saint John-based Kent Line is the sub-agent for Echo Freight.     "Despite strong global competition in the forest products sector and a slowdown in housing starts in the U.S., we are delighted to welcome another European shipping line for New Brunswick lumber," said Al Soppitt, president and CEO of the Saint John Port Authority. "We are proving once again that our strategic location and cargo-handling expertise offers significant advantages to our transportation partners." Home  Top of page
September 17, 2007- New service from Halifax to Cuba By Tom Peters  Source:  (Canadian Sailings) The Port of Halifax has another connection to Cuba and the Caribbean. Nirint Shipping BV has started a direct conventional/breakbulk/container service from Halifax  to Cuba and other Caribbean ports on inducement. The Cuban ports include Moa, Havana and Matanzas.     Elias Hage of Echo Freight Inc., Canadian agents for the line, said Nirint has deployed the S. Commander for the service.  It sails from Halifax once every two weeks. The vesel, which has a capacity of 377 TEUs and crane capacity of 67 tonnes, can handle both breakbulk and containers.     Holland-based Nirint, which has head offices in Rotterdam, has been calling Halifax occasionally for the past several years and on a regular basis, every 14 days, since 2003.     Nirint vessels Nirint Pride, Nirint Atlas and   Nirint Champion are multipurpose heavy-lift vessels. Built between 1999 and 2000, they have cranes capable of lfting up to 300 tonnes. These 3 ships provide service from Halifax to Moredijk, Holland, and Bilboa, Spain. Nirint offer Canadians a regular conventional/breakbulk/container service to Europe and will soon have connections to the Mediterranean and Middle East region. Home  Top of page
March 19, 2007 - Nirint Shipping returns to Montreal Source : (Canadian Sailings) Nirint Shipping will return to Montreal in April after making four calls to the port last year. The Nirint vessel S. Commander called Montreal's Bickerdike Terminal, operated by Empire Stevedoring Co. Ltd., in June, August, October and December of last year. Montreal Port Authority officials greeted the ship's crew and presented a special plaque to its captain to mark the return of the carrier to Montreal.     "Nirint vessels call the Port of Montreal once every six weeks," said Elias Hage, director of Echo Freight, the agent for Nirint in Canada. "The service is temporarily suspended in the winter season – from the end of December until early April – due to winter navigation."  Nirint Shipping is a multipurpose liner service that specializes in project cargo, heavy-lifts, rolling stock, machinery, steel and piping, and general cargo.      It operates a Caribbean Service with the box-shaped S. Commander, which is capable of lifting cargo weighing up to 65 tonnes. The conventional/breakbulk service sails from the Port of Montreal to Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, but can also call other Central American and Caribbean destinations on inducement.     Nirint also operates a scheduled conventional/multipurpose service using three sister vessels from Halifax and the St. Lawrence to the Netherlands and Spain, and through transshipment to the Mediterranean, Middle East and Persian Gulf. The three box-shaped vessels on this rotation can lift pieces weighing up to 300 tonnes.     Nirint is a member of Fondel Group, based in the Netherlands. It is active in metal trading, shipping, retail and environmental services.   Home  Top of page