Vistula Maersk makes a maiden call to St. Petersburg, as first in series of new ice-class vessels
Seago Line, Maersk’s intra-European short sea carrier, says new vessels are introduced to its North Europe feeder link between Rotterdam, Netherlands and St. Petersburg, Russia.
Next vessel in series will be Volga Maersk, highlighting Maersk and Seago Line’s commitment to serving the Russian market.
In the Russian Baltics, where harsh winters and icy waters pose challenges for container shipping, ice-class vessels bring a very important value proposition to the market. Seago Line, the intra-Europe and short-sea carrier within Maersk, has recently taken delivery of Vistula Maersk, the first in its series of vessels purpose-built to serve the North Sea and Baltic Sea. After successful trials, the vessel is now operating on the carrier’s feeder connection between The Netherlands and Russia and has made her maiden call to Petrolesport and First Container Terminal in St. Petersburg on Friday, 20th April 2018.
“We are truly breaking the ice and offering year-round stable transportation solutions to our customers, who require a reliable service despite weather conditions”, says Seago Line CEO Søren Castbak.
Vistula will shortly be joined by her sister unit Volga Maersk and these vessels will together be the only two to operate on the North Europe Feeder Link 1 service, ensuring consistency in tonnage and enhanced reliability throughout the year. During the coming months, five other sisters (namely Vayenga Maersk, Venta Maersk, Vuoksi Maersk, Vilnia Maersk and the last one still to be announced) will join Vistula and Volga in enhancing a number of Seago Line services in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
The new ships are the world’s largest ice-class container vessels, designed specifically for operation in winter conditions (down to -25 degrees C). Apart from their stronger hull, they are characterised by high refrigerated cargo intake (600 reefer plugs), which is of special importance in the trade where perishables make a large share of cargoes moved. Some of the fresh commodities moved on the short-sea service – and soon to be carried by Vistula and Volga Maersk – include citrus, tomatoes, oranges, potatoes to name a few.
“This new class of vessels plays a vital role in our strategy of growing with our customers and building on our market leadership position within transport of refrigerated cargo”, adds Søren Castbak.
In 2017, Moscow Maersk – a next generation Triple-E vessel was added to Maersk Line’s North European fleet. “Vistula and Volga joining Seago Line’s fleet will soon be another symbol of our commitment to serving the Russian market and local customers”, says Søren Castbak.
Vistula Maersk and Volga Maersk will operate on Seago Line’s L16/L01 service, which calls Rotterdam’s APM Terminals 1, Delta Container Terminal and APM Terminals Maasvlakte 2, before calling Port of Ust-Luga and then Petrolesport and First Container Terminal in St. Petersburg.
About Vistula Maersk:
Length overall: 200 m
Beam (breadth): 35.2 m
Height (above baseline): 56.1 m
Height (above waterline): 46.1 m
Draught: 11 m
Main engine: MAN B&W
Nominal capacity: 3596 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit)
Reefer capacity: 600 plugs
Standard crew: up to 28
Builder: COSCO Zhoushan Shipyard, China
Flag state: Denmark
New ice-class vessels provide significant efficiency improvement per TEU, compared to the vessels they replace which are in the 1,400-1,700 TEU capacity range. Vistula and Volga have sheltered forecastle deck for safe mooring operations in winter conditions and enclosed bridge wings for safe manoeuvring and harbour approach. Their propeller and rudder design has been optimised for lowest fuel consumption. Also, the vessels will use marine diesel fuel which is fully compliant with the Emission Control Area (ECA) rules, established by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
About Seago Line
Seago Line is a dedicated intra-European carrier offering short sea and feeder container shipping services in Europe — from the Black Sea through the Mediterranean to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. With more than 40 offices, Seago Line focuses on running an extensive shipping network with high-quality equipment, maintaining operational flexibility and reliability while taking care of its customers. It runs 66 vessels covering more than 70 ports, creating one of the most extensive route networks in the region. Seago Line was established in 2011 and is a fully-owned subsidiary of Maersk Line.
