Grimaldi News 47 - Web Agency

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North Sea / Baltic Port of Wallhamn is fully owned Grimaldi completed the purchase of the remaining 50% in the Swedish port serving the West of Sweden as well as South Eastern Norway In June this year the Group completed the take over of the port of Wallhamn, the only private port in Sweden. The operation is part of a strategy aimed at continuously strengthening Grimaldi’s maritime-related activities and involved the purchasing of 50% of the shares of Wallhamn Holding AB, the company that owns the port, from Eukor Car Carriers Inc. As a part of the deal, Eukor Car Carriers Inc. entered into a long-term agreement committing to use the port of Wallhamn for its services. A multi-client port, Wallhamn lies on the Tjörn island and it is strategically located as it serves both import and export trades the whole Western part of Sweden as well as the South Eastern part of Norway. It features a 712-metre long berth while the terminal area and warehouses total 500,000 square metres. The Grimaldi Group and Eukor had jointly purchased the port in 2005 from the Municipality of Wallhamn, since then some 120 direct jobs have been created while investments worth millions of euros have been completed. The port of Wallhamn is mostly used for the import/ export of new cars and industrial vehicles as well as ro-ro and project cargo. The 2008 throughput at the port was 125,000 cars, 8,500 ro-ro units, 6,000 containers. The terminal includes a Pre-Delivery- Inspection Centre for vehicles as well as body shop works for commercial vehicles where tailor-made alteration services can be provided according to customer requirements. Commenting on the takeover, Mr Emanuele Grimaldi, the Group’s joint-managing director said: “Developing a range of first class, owned ports and port terminals is part of the Group’s strategy aimed at delivering to our customers the highest standard of services. We are proud of what Wallhamn has become since we bought the original 50% stake in it. The increase of the Group’s interest to 100% will have a positive impact in terms of operating results and profits generated. Wallhamn is a good example of how private ownership of a port can generate employment and wealth for the region surrounding it”. The port of Wallhamn is called by the Grimaldi Lines’ weekly EuroMed Service to the Mediterranean as well as by Finnlines’ Scandinavian service. Wallhamn is the hub port for the BalticEuroMed Service – the union of EuroMed and Scandinavian services - jointly operated by Finnlines and Grimaldi Lines. This latter service offers a unique weekly ro-ro connection between Russia, Finland, Northern Europe and all of the Mediterranean destinations in the Group range for the transport of cars, any kind of rolling units as well as containerised and project cargo. Finnlines in Motorways of the Sea push A new logo, new services and a new CEO During the first half of the year Finnlines has revised all its services, launching new connections for both ro-ro freight and passengers. At the same time, the company logo has been modified to reflect being part of the Grimaldi Group. The main new services are those connecting the German port of Travemünde to Gdynia (Poland); Helsinki (Finland) and Malmö (Sweden) respectively, while Gdynia has also been linked three times a week to Helsinki. At the same time, the TransRussiaExpress line from Lübeck to St. Petersburg has been upgraded to two sailings per week based on a number of different loops: Lübeck-Sassnitz-St.Petersburg and Lübeck-Helsinki-St.Petersburg. This latter service allows the collection of cargo in Helsinki, for shipment to Russia for cargo from the entire range of ports served by the Grimaldi Group. Last but most important, Finnlines has launched a weekly BalticEuroMed Service, created by connecting its Scandinavian Service to Grimaldi Lines’ EuroMed service. In this case, the hub port is Wallhamn, in Sweden. The most recent development at the Helsinki-based operator is the appointment of Uwe Bakosch as President and 4 GNE WS
CEO. Mr Bakosch took office at the end of June. “Our target is to organise the company in order to be profitable even if the crisis continues and volumes remain at the current levels while supplying the highest service standard to customers” he said. Here are the main new ro-pax services of Finnlines: Travemünde-Helsinki (10 x week) This Baltic backbone now features 10 departures per week in each direction. The line is operated by the five Star Class vessels, the largest ro-pax ice class ferries. Capable of loading 4,200 lane metres of trailers and trucks and up to 500 passengers in 200 cabins. Seven of the ten departures have a 27-hour sailing time with the other three having a 36-hour sailing time due to the call in Gdynia (Poland). Travemünde-Gdynia (3 x week) & Gdynia-Helsinki (3 x week) The first motorway of the sea for passengers and freight between Germany and Poland was launched on 2 June and since the very beginning has attracted good cargo flows thanks to the important Finnlines Eurobonus offer under which any trailer or truck pays only 250 euros for the 15-hour trip, with cabin and meal for drivers included. This environmentally friendly service is in line with the European Commission’s goal of reducing the congestion on the European road networks and reducing the external costs for the companies that are related to transport activities. In their first month of operation the Travemünde-Gdynia and the Gdynia-Helsinki (3 x week, 19-hour sailing) services have attracted 12,000 passengers and transported more than 3,000 commercial vehicles and cars in addition to the existing volumes of trailers on the Gdynia- Helsinki route. Both the services as well as the Travemünde-Helsinki direct service are operated by the Star Class vessels Travemünde – Malmö (3 x day) Finnlines has also extended its passenger concept to the 9-hour link between Germany and South Sweden. In addition to a substantial ro-ro capacity, the three ro-pax ships deployed on this route – the m/v Finneagle, Finntrader and Finnpartner – are fitted with 190 cabins each. This service features three departures per day. Backing the German Industry Grimaldi Lines connects Hamburg to any destination in Mediterranean, South America and West Africa; ACL secures the link to Canada and the US With Hamburg establishing itself as the North European terminal of many of the Group’s ro-ro services, over the last year the Grimaldi Group has substantially improved the way it serves German importers and exporters of rolling, containerised and project cargo bound to the Mediterranean, West Africa, South America as well as North America. The extensive set of shipping services are provided by both Grimaldi Lines and Atlantic Container Lines, two of the main brands of the Group. They rely on the strong agency support provided by the subsidiaries Grimaldi Germany and ACL Deutschland, both located in a modern building in the newly developed area of the port, where an aggregated staff of more than 80 people is wholly dedicated at serving the German market. Mediterranean (Weekly) Since late 2008, Hamburg has become the Northern European terminal port for the weekly Euro-Aegean Service. This is served by very large, specially designed Pure Car Truck Carrier (PCTC) vessels able to take onboard any kind of rolling units, even pieces of project and special cargo having up to a 100-tonne weight. Departing from Hamburg on Mondays, the Euro- Aegean Service connects the German industry to the extensive Mediterranean network served by the Group, including direct-call destinations such as Piraeus (Greece), Alexandria (Egypt), Lattakia and Tartous (Syria), Beirut and Tripoli (Lebanon), Gemlik and Yeniköy (Turkey) and other destinations served via transhipment, such as Libya. “We really serve the whole of the Med area – stressed Hans-Jürgen Sell, managing director of Grimaldi Germany -, and carry any kind of cargo: break bulk, high volume cargo safely packed on mafi trailers, machinery as well as second hand cars offering unmatched frequency and range of ports served as. Grimaldi services are reliable, safe and make use of the most modern ro-ro tonnage”. GNE WS 5
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