China Merchants Jinling Shipyard has launched the second NewMax ferry, Stena Connecta. The hybrid-powered vessel will undergo final fitting-out and outfitting before entering service in January 2026. The first vessel in the series, Stena Futura, was laid down in July 2024 and is expected to enter service in autumn 2025.
RB Rail AS, representing the interests of the Baltic ministries of transport in the Rail Baltica project, has applied for funding under the CEF-Digital programme. The objective is to develop and build railway radio communications compliant with the FRMCS standard, with the possibility of deploying 5G networks along the European TEN-T transport corridors.
Kazakhstan and China are strengthening their transport cooperation, having agreed to increase the volume of transportation along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). The agreements reached were the result of the 15th meeting of the Subcommittee on Cooperation in Transport, which was held in Urumqi with the participation of Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Transport Maksat Kaliakparov and China’s Deputy Minister of Transport Li Yang.
The economic downturn in Germany and Europe continues to have a negative impact on freight transport and intermodal transport. In 2024, the operator Kombiverkehr KG transported around 780,000 containers, swap bodies and semi-trailers, equivalent to 1.5 million TEU. This is 5% less than the previous year. The main decline was recorded on international routes (-6%), while volumes within Germany fell by 3%. The situation was also affected by extensive construction work on the rail network, including the months-long closure of the Riedbahn. Despite the difficulties, the use of rail transport allowed the company’s customers to reduce CO2 emissions by 1.12 million tonnes.
NTT Com Asia has launched the Ocean Intelligence platform in Hong Kong, which uses artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency of smart building management. The company emphasizes that the solution is developed on the basis of an open partnership system, which will allow the implementation of AI in any real estate.
The heads of JSC NC KTZ and LLC GC Port Lianyungang held a working meeting, where they summed up the results of joint work for 2024 and discussed the prospects for further cooperation. Particular attention was paid to the results of the operation of the Khorgos dry port and the Kazakh-Chinese terminal in the port of Lianyungang, which play a key role in the development of transit traffic between the two countries.
APM Terminals Maasvlakte II has officially launched its terminal expansion, marking a major step in the development of one of the most modern container terminals in the world. The expansion, carried out in close cooperation with the Port of Rotterdam and the CareGo consortium, will double the terminal’s capacity, making it not only the largest, but also the most efficient and sustainable APM Terminals automated terminal in Europe.
Slovenian cargo airline Solinair has started construction of a new aircraft maintenance hangar at Ljubljana Airport (LJU), expanding its service capabilities.
According to the preliminary financial results for 2024, the Port of Tallinn’s revenue was EUR 120 million, up 2.5% year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 8% to EUR 53 million, while net profit increased by 21% to EUR 19 million. Chairman of the Management Board Valdo Kalm noted that the success was due to the growth in cargo turnover and passenger traffic, as well as investments in the development of port infrastructure.
The German economy has been contracting for two years in a row and is not expected to show significant growth in 2025. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the country’s GDP will have fallen by 0.2% in 2024 after falling by 0.3% in 2023. Amid economic stagnation, the German government has revised its growth forecast for 2025 downwards to 0.3% instead of the previously expected 1.1%, as announced by Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
