Cosco Shipping Specialized Carriers’ new vessel Min Jiang Kou arriving at the Port of Gothenburg on Friday evening. The ship is currently at quay being loaded. Photo: The Port of Gothenburg.
A newly launched RoRo (Roll-On/Roll-Off) shipping route between the Port of Gothenburg and ports in China via Singapore is now in operation. The cargo consists mainly of vehicles, but the newly built ships, powered by LNG, are also designed to handle project cargo. The shipping company COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers is responsible for the service, which will initially operate once a month.
“Gothenburg is an important automotive hub in northern Europe, but until now has lacked a direct RoRo connection to Asia. We are very happy to start this service, which is highly demanded by our customers,” says Erik Lund Eriksen, Partner Director at COSCO Shipping Lines Nordic.
The bulk of the cargo consists of Swedish export cars destined for the Asian market, but the import market for Chinese cars and heavy vehicles to Scandinavia is also growing. In addition, COSCO Shipping is targeting other types of cargo, where the company see great potential to further fill their vessels.
The new service calls at Singapore and the three Chinese ports of Xinsha, Tianjin, and Shanghai.
New ships – reduced CO2 emissions
The new shipping route is served by vessels from COSCO Shipping’s latest series, which was launched earlier this year. The ships are powered by LNG (liquefied natural gas), which, according to COSCO Shipping’s own calculations, results in about a 27% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to conventional fuel propulsion.
“With this service, our Swedish customers can also avoid transshipment in other ports or pre-transport by road to more distant ports. Overall, this provides significant advantages for those looking to reduce their transport emissions,” says Erik Lund Eriksen.
The new vessels are 199.9 meters long and 38 meters wide. With 13 decks and space for 7,500 vehicles, the ships are like giant floating parking garages. Four of the decks are height-adjustable, which means they can transport a wide variety of cargo, such as High and Heavy cargo and more unusual, bulky project loads in addition to cars.
– “A direct RoRo line to Asia is a fantastic addition to the port’s overall offering which really strengthens both the port’s and our customers’ competitiveness. It’s exciting that the service is now up and running, and that the initial calls have attracted such strong interest,” says Richard Mellgren, Senior Business Development Manager at the Port of Gothenburg.
At the Port of Gothenburg, the ships are handled at the Car Terminal by terminal operator Logent Ports and Terminals, which has extensive experience in handling both vehicles and project cargo. The terminal also manages, among others, the vessels of Wallenius Wilhelmsen and Hoegh at the port, which offer similar direct services to North America, Oceania, and South America.
