A new route to Norway

Container feeder and short sea shipping vessel operators Containerships and Viasea Shipping have partnered up on a new route to Norway.  As revealed in official press release, the partnership will enable the two shipping companies to offer, what they believe is, the market’s best shortsea solution between Norway, Poland and the Baltic countries.

“Containerships has invested to a strong growth path with new LNG-vessels and trucks. The other focus has been to open new services in its main market area in the Baltics. Opening a new service in Norway with a strong player like Viasea enables us to offer competitive solution to our customers right from the beginning and speeds up our growth”, says Kari-Pekka Laaksonen, CEO of Containerships plc.

Containerships and Viasea are both dedicated shortsea operators focusing on door-door services in Europe, within each of its segments and areas. An ambition to develop their services in new regions, is the main reason for this cooperation. Containerships are strong in the Baltic sea, whilst Viasea are mainly connecting UK and continental Europe to Norway, and together they will complement each other well.

“We are delighted to start our cooperation with Viasea with whom we are very close in terms of approach and service ambition. We are very excited to add the Norwegian market to our traditional areas that Finland, Russia, the Baltic States and Poland have been for the last 50 years.” Says KariPekka Laaksonen, CEO Containerships.

“Although our companies are different in terms of size and age, we are quite similar in which services we offer. Both companies focus exclusively on the shortsea market – aiming for regularity and reliability. By combining our strengths and existing networks, we can offer a new alternative for our customers, as well as open up for new opportunities” – states Morten Pettersen, Managing Director of Viasea.

The service will be a fixed weekly schedule with end of the week sailings from Klaipeda (Lithuania) and Gdynia (Poland) and an arrival in Oslo on Monday morning, ready for unloading. The transit time on this route is shorter and more predictable than most other freight alternatives. The first departure from Klaipeda will take place 5th April 2018.

There are many advantages of choosing shortsea.

This form of transport has proven to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly as opposed to the traditional road freight.

An extensive amount of goods is moved from Poland and the Baltics to Norway. Companies choosing sea freight, show willingness to move towards becoming more environmentally friendly.

Norway service strengthens Containerships position in the Baltics and Poland by adding even wider geographic coverage to our customers. The co-operation with a strong Norwegian player Viasea ensures that – as stated in official press releases – Containerships may offer reliable service, which our customers are used to, also from and to Norway.

Containerships is a full-service logistics company that provides safe, fast and environmentally friendly door-door container transport in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Mediterranean, offering both standard and customized containers and a complete coverage of logistics solutions by vessels, trucks, rail and river barges. Containerships’ business focus is the Baltics. At the beginning of the 2010s, their business expanded to the Mediterranean, which currently accounts for 15% of revenues. They say they are an international, yet local logistics company, with own offices in 14 countries.

The shipping line Viasea was established in the autumn of 2016, focusing mainly on shortsea traffic between Western Europe and Norway, and has a fixed sailing schedule between Rotterdam, Moss and Oslo. Viasea is a Norwegian owned company with its own chartered tonnage ship, and is independent of other shipping lines.