The German shipping company Reederie Deymann will introduce the first container barge shuttle service on inland waterways in Sweden between the newly opened Stockholm Norvik Port and Port of Västerås.
Reederie Deymann will deploy the EU inland waterway classed container barge Emelie Deymann with a carrying capacity of 208TEU into Lake Mälaren to operate services linking the two ports, with the commencement of the rotation scheduled for the end of May, with two sailings each week.
The first inland waterway barge shuttle service in Sweden is expected to reduce congestion on the crowded road network in the region, as well as substantially reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
“The cargo shuttle service between Stockholm Norvik and Västerås is exactly aligned with governmental strategy,” highlighted Pia Berglund, national co-ordinator for domestic and short sea shipping at the Swedish Transport Agency, who went on to say, “This represents a major step in transitioning from reduced road haulage to more waterborne transport, and it is especially pleasing that it involves a vessel operating on our inland waterways.”
Stockholm Norvik Port, operated by Hutchison Ports, is the container terminal located closest to the area that is Sweden’s largest consumer region. The approach is closer to the open sea than any other port on the Swedish east coast and the introduction of this new inland shipping shuttle service provides the possibility to sustainably transport goods as close to their end destination as possible, according to the statement.
The cargo shuttle service is the first example in Sweden of what is known throughout the EU as the fifth mode of transportation, using smaller EU inland waterway classed vessels.
