New Attempt for a Ferry Between Colon and CartagenaThursday, August 21, 2014 An announcement has been made that on October 24th a ferry will begin operating between Panama and Colombia, with a connection in the island of Bocas del Toro. Two years after the last attempt to connect the cities of Colombia and Panama via a maritime route, Panama-based Ferry Xpress will be launching the project on October 24th. La Unión - Caldera Cargo Ferry Plan AbandonedTuesday, May 30, 2017 Due to a disagreement over the rates that should be charged for the service, the Spanish shipping company Odiel has ended the negotiation process to operate the ferry. The project which was announced with great fanfare by the Solís administration almost two years ago, failed to make any progress due to the need to modify the regulation on multimodal transport service, and now the operator who was interested in providing the Service, Naviera Odiel, has decided to withdraw from the negotiations, because an agreement on tariffs could not be reached. Nicaragua Still Has Not Endorsed La Union - Puerto Corinto FerryTuesday, September 16, 2014 The Spanish shipping company interested in operating the route said it is awaiting permits from Nicaragua and that it will invest $14 million so that operations can start in October. Carlos López Barrundia, Naviera del Odiel representative in El Salvador, told Laprensagrafica.com that the initial investment comprises of "... funds for the installation of offices, hiring staff and for the boat that will provide the service." Ferry between La Union and CalderaMonday, November 10, 2014 The same shipping company which has not yet received authorization from Nicaragua to operate a ferry between La Union and Puerto Corinto, has now announced that it intends to run the service to Puerto Caldera in Costa Rica. An announcement has been made that in January 2015, a ferry will start operations connecting the port of La Union, El Salvador, with the port Caldera in Costa Rica, to be run by the shipping company Odiel. Cargo Ferry Between La Union and Caldera Back On the TableWednesday, July 11, 2018 In order to minimize some of the impact that the Nicaraguan crisis has had on intraregional trade, the governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador have announced that they are now in a position to start ferry operations. After unsuccessfully trying to implement this maritime cargo transport option, in May of last year the Spanish shipping company Odiel decided to end the negotiation process to operate the ferry, due to a disagreement over the setting of tariffs that would have to be charged for the service. Since then, the project has been forgotten. Revived Interest in Panama - Colombia FerryThursday, December 5, 2013 A European group is negotiating the operation of the maritime route between Colon and Cartagena using a ship with capacity for 1,500 passengers, 200 cars and 50 containers. Prensa.com reports: "In the absence of a land connection between the two countries, and which would link South America with the rest of the continent, the ferry between Colon and Cartagena is a project that has attracted entrepreneurs in the recent past, but without any great results" . Regional Trade: Options for Overcoming the CrisisThursday, June 14, 2018 To be able to ship cargo throughout the region, Central American business leaders are exploring options for moving goods using alternative methods, such as shipping. Representatives from the Costa Rican government and the union of exporters met to address the issue of blockades in Nicaragua and the logistical drawbacks that they have caused, since Costa Rica transports by land about five thousand containers to the other Central American countries every month. As a result of this meeting, both parties concluded that the most viable option is to use maritime transport. |
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