German OPDR Introduces New Direct Calls

Starting from 31st of July, Short Sea Shipping & Logistics provider Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampfschiffs-Rhederei (OPDR) introduces new direct calls between Hamburg and Casablanca as well as between Lisbon and Hamburg. Furthermore, there will be new direct links between Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula as well as between Portugal and Andalusia. These route enhancements will lead to faster transit times and higher frequency.

“We are pleased to be able to offer our Customers more routes to support their ongoing demand for Short Sea Shipping solutions all over Europe and North Africa”, says Dirk Wessels, Director Line Management at OPDR. “Faster transit times, first class customer service and reliable sailing dates make Short Sea Shipping a worthwhile alternative to road transport – especially during the summer months when truck capacity is short.”

Due to the new route enhancements OPDR will be the only Short Sea carrier with a direct service from Lisbon to Hamburg. “This new direct link is particularly ideal for customers with perishable cargo”, says Simon Uhrlau, Director Line Management at OPDR. “With that in mind, we have simultaneously increased our reefer capacity on this route.”

The new direct link between Hamburg and Casablanca will enable OPDR – in connection with the OPDR CASA (Casablanca) Service – to provide up to two weekly sailings from Northern Europe to Casablanca. The integration of the port of Casablanca into the OPDR CISS Service, moreover, leads to new direct links to Spanish and Portuguese ports. “OPDR customers in Andalusia will now also benefit from two weekly sailings ex Andalusia on different days which give them more flexibility”, adds Simon Uhrlau.

OPDR will continue to operate the enhanced routes with two OPDR operated 700 TEU vessels on the PANG service and three 700 TEU vessels on the CISS service.

“By offering our customers new direct calls and higher frequency, we also aim to further boost the modal shift from road to sea in general”, says Dirk Wessels. “Simultaneously to the service enhancements we therefore have also expanded our 45 foot Pallet Wide High Cube container fleet in order to allow our customers to load 33 euro pallets in comparison to trucks.”

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Source: OPDR, August 1, 2012