This February a new container sea route will be opened between Gothenburg and Tilbury in the UK. From the UK, goods can also be transhipped for further transport to Spain
“We’re pleased that we can now offer the market more links to the UK and Spain, and because this is a completely new route it means a direct increase in our container capacity,” comments Patrik Thulin, Sales Manager for APM Terminals Gothenburg.
The new service is being added by MacAndrews, part of the French-owned CMA CGM shipping group. With its 389 vessels, CMA CGM is the third largest container shipping group in the world.
The new route will be used by smaller freight ships with a capacity of 300 TEU (twenty-foot containers). It will mainly be used for carrying wine and other alcoholic drinks, along with food, ceramics and tiles.
The link runs from Gothenburg to Tilbury in the UK, from where freight will be transhipped to continue its journey to Bilbao in Spain. For freight that requires further distribution within Spain there are direct rail links from Bilbao to Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona and Seville.
A growing share of goods is transported within Europe as containerised freight rather than by road.
“The new route is a welcome addition to the sea links offered by the Port of Gothenburg, which now include 131 shipping routes to destinations around the world. It is enormously important that Swedish companies can offer a wide choice of fast and efficient links to major markets,” states Magnus Kårestedt, CEO, Port of Gothenburg AB.