Norway-based Sea-Cargo is revamping its liner services in the North Sea with updated transport routes, increased capacity and an enhanced fleet.
Sea-Cargo’s services in the North Sea previously included connections between Western Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK using its fleet of ro-ro and general cargo vessels. These services have now been extended to include Sweden and Poland.
A weekly transport route for rolling cargo between Poland, Sweden and Western Norway will connect to its existing liner system between Norway and Rotterdam (the Netherlands), as well as Esbjerg (Denmark) and Immingham and Aberdeen (UK). Sea-Cargo said that it has established offices in both Poland and Sweden to handle cargo and customers locally.
The additional ports include Swinoujscie (Poland), Gothenburg and Lysekil (Sweden), and the Norwegian ports of Ålesund, Bergen, Haugesund and Stavanger.
The ro-ro vessel Bore Bay will operate on the route; it is capable of handling 100 semi-trailers plus other cargo.
Ole Sævild, Sea-Cargo ceo, said: “Being able to include a transport route to East Europe has been an important strategic step for Sea-Cargo. The East European market is large and Norway has close connections to the area.”
The new transport route is in addition to a larger fleet and services renewal; the company has already introduced three ro-ro vessels, with a capacity of 140 trailers each, to its fleet that operates between Western Norway, Rotterdam and Immingham. The ro-ro vessel SC Connector will also return to service following a retrofit that saw the ship fitted with two large rotor sails on the weatherdeck.
“In good wind conditions, the sailing vessel will maintain regular service speed by sail alone. We are utilising available renewable energy and using it for direct propulsion. With this hybrid version, together with main engine, we expect to reduce the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 25 percent during the year,” explained Sævild.
Sea-Cargo completed this retrofit in cooperation with Enova; the sails measure 35 m tall and can be lowered when needed.
