DFDS increases capacity at the Port of Gothenburg with new vessel
DFDS is bringing a new vessel into service that will strengthen the port’s offering within the intra-European ro-ro sector, Port of Gothenburg said in its release. The newly built Hollandia Seaways is one of the largest ro-ro vessels in the world and will increase capacity to and from the Port of Gothenburg by over 600 trailers per week.
Vehicles, industrial components, steel and forest products are some of the commodities that will be transported by Hollandia Seaways.
This newbuild, recently delivered from the Jinling Shipyard in China, is 237.4 m long and 33 m wide. It can carry up to 450 trailers, which if parked end to end would form a line 6.7 km long.
Compared with its predecessor, Petunia Seaways, the increase in capacity is around 50 per cent, and overall the new vessel is more fuel-efficient.
2018 was the ninth year in succession that traffic increased on the routes between Gothenburg and the Belgian ports of Ghent and Zeebrugge. During that period, volumes to Belgium doubled and the number of departures rose from 12 to 16. Apart from DFDS, the shipping companies CLdN and EML also operate between Belgium and Gothenburg.
The Gothenburg Port Authority has also embarked on an extensive investment programme at the Port of Gothenburg. The Arken Combi Terminal, located directly beside the Ro-Ro Terminal, is already in operation and handles large volumes of rail and road freight which are transloaded onto ships.
In 2020, a completely new rail-connected crossdocking terminal – the Svea Terminal – will open. Large volumes of incoming forest products will be transloaded for onward transport by sea to the continent. There is also Arendal 2, which is taking shape directly beside the Ro-Ro Terminal and will ultimately add 220,000 square metres of new terminal space, as well as the logistics park that is emerging in the port’s hinterland, with a further one million square metres.
