October 16 - The first of Atlantic Container Line's (ACL) five new vessels, Atlantic Star, will call at Sweden's Port of Gothenburg towards the end of December 2015.
ACL has been operating in Gothenburg since 1967, with a direct service between the port and the east coast of North America, offering Swedish export and import companies links to Halifax, New York, Baltimore and Norfolk.
"It is very positive that ACL continues to invest in its con-ro traffic to North America. It is good for the Port of Gothenburg network, and not least for the Swedish trade and industry as a whole," said Claes Sundmark, vice president, business area cargo at the Port of Gothenburg.
The new vessels, which were built at Shanghai's Hudong Zhonghua shipyard, are all scheduled to be in operation by the second quarter of 2016. They will be replacing Atlantic Cartier, Atlantic Companion, Atlantic Compass, Atlantic Concert and Atlantic Conveyor - all of which will be gradually phased out.
Atlantic Star, and its four sister vessels, can carry both containerised freight and rolling freight, such as construction equipment, cars and boats.
HLPFI reported in August 2012 that ACL had confirmed plans to build five combination con-ro carriers, which it said would be the "first of their type ever built" and "bigger, faster, greener and more efficient than their predecessors".
Atlantic Star.
