G6 Alliance to Call at Sweden’s Largest Port

A new direct deep sea service to the Far East for Swedish import and export industry has been announced. The new service will include a weekly call to the Port of Gothenburg, commencing on April 18.

Claes Sundmark, Sales Director at the Port of Gothenburg said: “We have worked for several years to attract more direct calls for Swedish industry to key markets in the Far East. This news is extremely welcome and very positive.”

The new route has emerged from a newly established alliance, G6. The alliance is made up of APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine, MOL (Mitsui O.S.K Lines), Hapag-Lloyd AG, NYK (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) and OOCL (Orient Overseas Container Line).

The new route is: Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Tangier – Rotterdam – Bremerhaven – Gothenburg – Rotterdam – Jeddah – Singapore – Shekou – Hong Kong – Shanghai.

The vessels will call at APM Terminals Gothenburg – the Port of Gothenburg container terminal – once a week commencing on April 18. The first vessel to arrive will be the 320 metre-long APL Finland with a capacity of 8,110 TEU.

Imports will be mainly consumer goods, such as clothes, electronics and furniture. Exports will include automotive parts, sawn wood products, industrial components, steel and paper.

Magnus Kårestedt, Port of Gothenburg Chief Executive said:“APM Terminals in Gothenburg is the only container terminal in Sweden that can handle vessels of this size. Major investments have been made in cranes, hinterland connections, terminal areas and fairways to make this possible.”

Up to now, Sweden has had one direct service to the Far East – Maersk Line, which calls the Port of Gothenburg once a week with its very largest container vessels. From next week, there will two competing alternatives. The Port of Gothenburg now has seven direct deep sea services in total.

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Source: Port of Gothenburg, April 16, 2012; Image: SCP