Ports of Stockholm have launched the country’s first container barge shuttle service on inland waterways on 1 June between Stockholm Norvik Port and the Port of Västerås.
The container barge shuttle service carries the equivalent of around 200 road haulage vehicles, alleviating road network congestion and decreasing carbon dioxide emissions in the region.
Services will be operated by German shipping company Reederie Deymann with the support of Barge Transport Sweden AB (BTSA). The sailing time is 15 hours and services will begin with two sailings a week.
Reederie Deymann has introduced the EU class inland waterway container barge Emelie Deymann into Lake Mälaren to link the two Swedish ports. The vessel Emelie Deymann has a shallow keel, is 110 metres in length and has a container capacity of 208TEU.
“All kinds of consumer goods, such as jeans, sneakers, smart phones, TV screens and furniture will be shipped by this barge cargo shuttle service, as well as industrial materials. Swedish export goods, such as sawn timber, cartons of beverages, machinery, pulp and cardboard will be shipped in the opposite direction,” commented Lars Rexius, head of logistics and marketing at Barge Transport Sweden AB.
Hutchison Ports-operated Stockholm Norvik Port is the container terminal located closest to the area that is Sweden’s largest consumer region, while it also has approach lanes closer to the open sea than any other port on the east coast. The introduction of the new inland shipping shuttle service provides the possibility to sustainably transport goods as close to their end destination as possible, according to a statement.
Fredrik Lindstål, chair of the board of Ports of Stockholm, highlighted that inland waterway transport gives the opportunity for efficient transport options in Stockholm. This mode of transportation “reduces congestion on our roads, and provides our shipping companies and cargo owners with additional possibilities,” he said.
