Port of Gothenburg hails new direct Sweden-Asia service
A new direct service between Sweden and Asia is due to commence tomorrow, operated by the G6 Alliance. Ships will call at APM Terminals, the container terminal at the Port of Gothenburg, once a week, the Port of Gothenburg said in a press release.
Up to now, Sweden has had just one direct container service to the Far East – the weekly service operated from Gothenburg by MSC and Maersk Line. Tomorrow a second service will be added.
"A wide range of services is crucial for Swedish industry and that is why it is very encouraging indeed that the G6 Alliance believes in the Swedish market and in the Port of Gothenburg as a freight hub. Direct services mean rapid, safe transport with excellent reliability," said Claes Sundmark, Vice President, Sales and Marketing at the Port of Gothenburg.
APM Terminals is well prepared following a series of new investments and an upgraded terminal, making it possible to receive ships and volumes of this size. "With what is virtually a new terminal, new cranes, new straddle carriers and upgraded land areas we have the capacity to handle vessels of this size rapidly and efficiently. We hope to secure increased volumes from both Sweden and Norway and more customers of this size," said Patrik Thulin, CCO at APM Terminals in Gothenburg.
"We have noted an increase in trade between Scandinavian and China, in particular exports to China. That is why we are returning to Gothenburg with the largest and most modern ships in our fleet," said Fredrik Håkansson Säll, General Manager at Hyundai Merchant Marine.
The first ship bound for the Far East will leave Gothenburg on August 28, carrying mainly forest products, steel and machinery. The service will then call at APM Terminals in Gothenburg once a week. Imports will include clothing, electronics, foodstuffs, white goods and industrial components.
China is the biggest trading partner in Asia and tenth-largest export market of Sweden. In 2013, exports from Sweden to China totalled SEK 39.5 billion (3.6% of the country's total exports). Exports include automotive components, sawn timber products, industrial components, steel and paper. Sweden imports from China largely consumer goods, including clothing, electronics and furniture. In 2013, imports totalled SEK 53.4 billion (5.1% of Sweden's total imports).
The Port of Gothenburg is the largest port in the Nordic region. 30 per cent of Swedish foreign trade passes through the port as well as 60 per cent of all container traffic. The Port of Gothenburg is the only port in Sweden with the capacity to receive the world's largest container vessels and has the broadest range of shipping routes within and outside Europe. The 25 rail shuttles that depart each day mean that companies throughout Sweden and Norway have a direct, environmentally smart link to the largest port in the Nordic region. The Port of Gothenburg has terminals for oil, cars, ro-ro, containers and passengers.
