Gothenburg Zeebrugge Ties Get Closer

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The Swedish shipping company SOL is about to expand its departure frequency between the Port of Gothenburg and the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The change will offer greater scope for Swedish import and export companies to ship freight to and from Belgium.

Gothenburg-based shipping company Swedish Orient Line, SOL, is about to expand its departure frequency between Gothenburg and the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The company’s vessels will now depart from Gothenburg seven times a week.

Ragnar Johansson, Chief Executive of Swedish Orient Line said: “We’ve seen an amazing increase in volumes during the past year and we’ve hit the ceiling in terms of capacity. To meet the increase in demand, we’re planning to expand our capability to ensure we can continue to offer our customers an efficient system with a first-rate level of service,”

To handle the additional departures, the company has brought a new vessel into service – Ark Forwarder. The 185-metre vessel will call at the Gothenburg Roro Terminal. The first departure will be this Thursday November 24. The voyage to Zeebrugge takes approximately 36 hours.

16 calls to and from Belgium each week

The Port of Gothenburg now offers five ro-ro services to Belgium with a total of 16 calls each week. Apart from SOL, the ro-ro companies CLdN and DFDS Seaways also operate services to Belgium – to Zeebrugge and Ghent respectively.

Jacob Minnhagen, Senior Manager, Business Development at Gothenburg Port Authority, said: “Zeebrugge is an important freight hub for many Swedish import and export companies that operate in Belgium and northern France,

“Further options are now available for shipping goods to and from Belgium. We’re extremely pleased that SOL is continuing to make operational investments at the Port of Gothenburg.”

Belgium is Sweden’s eighth largest export market with annual exports worth around US$5.4 billion, mainly engineering products, machinery and bearings. Many Swedish goods that are exported are transloaded in Belgium for onward movement to other markets. Imports from Belgium comprise foodstuffs, vehicles and components for Swedish industry.

This news follows the recent reports of port workers striking in Gothenburg.

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