January 23 - The Spliethoff Group and the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority have struck a deal to start a combined container and general cargo shipping route between Cleveland and Northern Europe from March 2014.
The route, which has been dubbed the Cleveland-Europe Express (CEE), will start once the Saint Lawrence Seaway system of locks, canals and channels that allows ocean vessels to ravel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, opens for a new season this spring.
Spliethoff promises that the Dutch ice-class ships that can sail through the seaway will operate a fast direct monthly scheduled service between Cleveland and Antwerp, with the first sailing set to leave Belgium at the end of March and reach the Port of Cleveland in 13 days.
