Sweden’s first container barge shuttle service on inland waterways started operation on June 1st between Stockholm Norvik Port and the Port of Västerås. The container barge shuttle service carries the equivalent of around 200 road haulage vehicles, alleviating road network congestion and significantly decreasing carbon dioxide emissions in the region. Services will be operated by German shipping company Deymann.
On Tuesday 1st June, German shipping company Reederie Deymann introduced the EU class inland waterway container barge Emelie Deymann into Lake Mälaren to operate services linking Stockholm Norvik Port and the Port of Västerås. This is the first inland waterway cargo barge shuttle service in Sweden and will reduce congestion on the road network in the region, as well as significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Stockholm Norvik Port is the container terminal located closest to the area that is by far Sweden’s largest consumer region. Stockholm Norvik also has approach lanes closer to the open sea than any other port on the east coast. The introduction of the new inland shipping shuttle service provides the possibility to sustainably transport goods as close to their end destination as possible.
The cargo shuttle service is the first example in Sweden of what is known throughout the EU as the fifth mode of transportation, using smaller EU class vessels on inland waterways. The EU class vessel Emelie Deymann has a shallow keel, is 110 metres in length and has the capacity to carry 208 TEUs, the equivalent of around 200 road haulage vehicles. The sailing time is 15 hours and services will begin with two sailings a week. Barge Transport Sweden AB (BTSA) is helping shipping company Reederei Deymann to introduce the service to Sweden.
The container terminal at Stockholm Norvik Port is run by Hutchison Ports, one of the world's largest container terminal operators, with 53 ports in 27 countries.