Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a large RoRo carrier, is investing heavily in the Port of Gothenburg, with increased frequency and more destinations to and from the port.
The port says the move is an incisive response to increased demand from the market for vehicles as well as breakbulk and project loads.
“After a rough patch during 2020, we now have vessels in our global fleet back in traffic globally. Today, demand is bigger than in a long time and our vessels depart fully loaded,” said Nikolai Nymoen, General Manager at Wallenius Wilhelmsen in Sweden.
New traffic to Gothenburg
Apart from the odd cancellation, the departure frequency in Gothenburg generally remained at four per month throughout the pandemic. During the spring, the number rose from four to six per month, with new departures opening up new destinations.
A new addition is that Wallenius Wilhelmsen now offer direct services from the Port of Gothenburg to the west coast of the USA, including ports such as Port Hueneme and Tacoma.
“We are expanding our offering in response to the market. The situation is looking bright with increased volumes among our contract customers and more enquiries on the spot market. There is considerable pressure and high demand, and we are doing our utmost to ease the situation by expanding our service schedule,” said Nikolai Nymoen.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen was already operating direct services from Gothenburg to New York, Brunswick and Charleston on the east coast. Also, the shipping line offers six sailings per month to New Zeeland, South Africa, South America and Central America via transloading on the continent.
Wind turbine blades on the weather deck
Wallenius Wilhelmsen operates a number of the world’s largest and most modern LCTC vessels. The vessels can carry up to 8,000 CEU and are also ideally suited to bulky project loads, an area in which Nikolai Nymoen says there is a growing demand.
“The port as a whole has moved forward during the past year, particularly in the handling of project loads. Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s investment in Gothenburg is entirely in line with our ambition to consolidate our position as the optimal port for vehicle transport, project loads, and breakbulk, and where we have identified significant growth potential,” said Richard Mellgren, Senior Business Development Manager at Gothenburg Port Authority.
