May 4 - This weekend (Sunday) will see Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL)'s service from Europe to Australia via North America make its inaugural call in Adelaide, Australia.

The first call will be by the Aida and follows the recent addition of Galveston, USA on the route.

WWL says that it carries cars to the Oceania region but the trade is increasingly driven by Australia's mining and agricultural industries and the need for heavy equipment in the country. "We have for some time seen increased demand in the market place for Adelaide, both from North America as well as Europe, mainly driven by large mining projects. We have had several inducement calls over the years and to support this continued customer demand we now establish a fixed port call," said Rob Lord, head of region Oceania.

Australia has an impressive number of mining projects being planned, with numerous projects approved each month. In 2010, Australia attracted 12 percent of global mining exploration budgets. The mining industry is on track to attract a massive AUD170 billion (USD173 billion) in investments for resource projects over the next two years. Although this capital expenditure in mining refers to spending on equipment, plants and assets directly related to mining or concentrating raw materials, it will also involve construction of infrastructure critical to transport the minerals for export.

In addition to Adelaide, the company today has regular calls to Brisbane, Port Kembla, Melbourne and Fremantle in Australia, as well as to Auckland in New Zealand.

The service is served by WWL's flexible and modern fleet of ro-ro and PCTC/LCTC vessels, adapted to carry a mix of cars, rolling equipment and breakbulk.

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