The service is provided by Nor Lines' state of the art, LNG-fuelled vessels MV Kvitnos and MV Kvitbjorn, which each offer 1,000 lane metres of RoRo capacity, 122 TEU as container space, 1,500 tons of reefer space in the lower holds and come equipped with a heavylift crane, the company said in its press release.
These flexible ships will sail in 14-day loops, connecting Rotterdam and Eemshaven with Norwegian ports from Hammerfest in the far north, and taking in calls including Sandnes/Tananger, Bergen, Trondheim, Ålesund, Bodo and Tromso. Samskip already offers 3x weekly cellular container services that connect Rotterdam, Bremerhaven and Hamburg to the West Coast of Norway.
In Rotterdam, the call will be accommodated at the SCA Logistics terminal, whose lay-out, equipment and experience focus on multipurpose vessels, RoRo, Break-bulk and containers can be handled in one place which is essential for this service.
Delivered to Nor Lines in 2015, the 5,000 dwt MV Kvitbjorn and MV Kvitnos are closely aligned with Samskip's commitment to sustainable multimodal transport. Both ships run Bergen LNG-only engines from Rolls-Royce and benefit from the fuel efficient Promas combined rudder/propeller, a power-optimizing hybrid shaft generator and an innovative wave-piercing hull. Combined, these solutions can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40% over similar diesel powered vessels.
“Adding Rotterdam to the schedule truly brings something new to services connecting Norwegian ports into Samskip's pan-European multimodal network,” says Caesar Luikenaar, Samskip Trade Director Norway. “Nor Lines provides the only scheduled service offering RoRo capacity and heavy lift capacity to handle 80-ton loads that connects to ports north of Trondheim. We see major potential for growth in oil and gas project cargoes, breakbulk, and industrial rolling cargo loads whilst also extending Samskip's commercial containerized network directly to North Norway.”
“In terms of the seafood cluster Nor Lines will be serving the main reefer ports in the North West of Europe with the main liner service with the LNG vessels and then complemented with the reefer tonnage that Samskip is operating currently already in the Baltic sea. A more flexible approach will be taken to serve current and new ports better for seafood like Cuxhafen, Eemshaven and Velsen. This will allow Nor lines to take more advantage of the seasonal peaks but also create a better reach in the North of Norway able to serve most fish ports and factories.''