New Ro-Ro Service Opens on North Sea

Newly established shipping company North Sea RoRo will start its service between Gothenburg, Sweden, and England on Jan. 24.

The North Sea roll-on/roll-off service will connect Gothenburg and Killingholme on the Humber, with three sailings per week in each direction.

In Gothenburg, Logent will be responsible for all stevedoring operations and will also act as agents for the line. C. RO Portsimilar will manage similar services in Killingholme.

DFDS has operated the only ro-ro service between Sweden and England. NTEX, a U.K.-based freight forwarder and investor in North Sea Ro-Ro, believes there is room for competition.

“Today we have a traffic volume on the route corresponding to 150 million SEK annually, said Thomas Ström, NTEX chief executive. “It is natural for us to support the new shipping company so that the market can be developed further.”

The service begins with two 14,200-deadweight-ton sister ships, the Beachy Head and the Longstone, each capable of carrying 165 trailers. NTEX moves about 250 trailers in each direction every week.

Photo shows the Longstone, one of the sister ships on the new route. Courtesy of NTEX.