Eimskip ends short sea service

Eimskip ends short sea service Icelandic carrier Eimskip last month discontinued a short sea service that it started last summer between Canada and New England ports.
   A company representative said the service was discontinued in late December because the service “didn’t see the customer base to support it.”
   The weekly service had called at Halifax; Portland, Maine; Portsmouth, N.H.; and Boston.
   A spokeswoman for the port of Boston said the port was disappointed to see the service leave as “we were watching the business build and volumes grow.”
   George Malec, vice president, business development and operations at the Halifax Port Authority, said since learning about Eimskip’s decision Halifax has been “investigating all possible options to work with partners and find a way to restore this important trade link. We are working on a variety of scenarios, but cannot speak specifically about the partners or arrangements that are under discussion at this point.”
   Dale Wood of Northeast Marine Development in Portsmouth had been using the service to connect U.S. companies with container carriers calling in Halifax. He felt the New Hampshire port was an attractive transshipment point when compared to Boston because of a lack of congestion.
   Eimskip continues to offer its fortnightly service between the U.S. and Canadian ports and Iceland. That service calls Richmond, Va.; Everett, Mass.; Halifax; and Argentia, Newfoundland.