Bilbao shares the celebrations for <strong>Finnlines</strong>’ new Russia link The launch of the new Bilbao-Antwerp–St. Petersburg service was cause for heartfelt celebration in the port of Bilbao, at the industrial heart of the Basque Country. 6
Photos: <strong>Finnlines</strong> archive The new service, which extends the weekly Bilbao–Antwerp–Helsinki line to St. Petersburg, has a transit time of seven days, leaving Bilbao on Wednesday and arriving at its destination at 7 am on next Wednesday. <strong>Finnlines</strong> chief executive Uwe Bakosch brought a high-level team of executives to the city for the occasion, a measure of the importance the company attaches to its Bilbao connection. “Our aim is to tie Russia even more closely to our existing European network, and to open up routes for it worldwide via Antwerp and the Grimaldi Group’s services to the Mediterranean, Africa and the Americas.” New boost also for Bilbao port At an inauguration ceremony at the terminal hosted by the company along with its longserving local agent Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza, Bilbao port president José Ramon de la Fuente noted that this will be the first time that Bilbao has had a direct connection to St. Petersburg. He added that the new service, linking Spain to one of the world’s most vibrant economies, would provide a major boost for the international development of the Basque port, which is already recognised as the most important on Spain’s Atlantic Coast. Tying Russian markets to worldwide services Mr Bakosch reaffirmed <strong>Finnlines</strong>’ commitment to the Russian market, which is already expanding fast and which has massive potential for further growth, adding that the company would focus particularly on the automotive, trailer and project cargo sectors. “Our aim is to tie Russia even more closely to our existing European network, and to open up routes for it worldwide via Antwerp and the Grimaldi Group’s services to the Mediterranean, Africa and the Americas.” The inauguration of the new service was also attended by representatives of the paper industry, the automotive sector, and wider industry, as well as the region’s major forwarders and a sizeable press delegation. Gerardo Toro, president of Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza, invited the guests to inspect the terminal and follow the loading operations on MS Finnmill prior to its departure the following day. New vessels to be assigned to the route <strong>Finnlines</strong> currently operates three vessels on the route, calling Bilbao–Antwerp–Helsinki– St. Petersburg–Turku–Travemünde–Kotka– Helsinki–Gothenburg. They are Finnmill and Finnpulp, each with capacity for 3,276 lm of rolling cargo and 1,350 lm of cars, and Birka Trader, which has capacity for 1,690 lm of rolling cargo. <strong>In</strong> the near future, and provided the trade grows as expected, <strong>Finnlines</strong> may well assign one of its coming ro-ro newbuildings, with the same capacity as those two larger vessels, to this highly promising service. Russia is not so far away any more…if you choose <strong>Finnlines</strong>. From left to rigth: Gerardo Toro, President of Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza, Uwe Bakosch, President/CEO, <strong>Finnlines</strong> Plc and José Ramon de la Fuente Arteagabeitia, Chairman/President of the Port of Bilbao Authority. From left to rigth: Luc Hens, Managing Director, <strong>Finnlines</strong> Belgium NV, Gerardo Toro, President of Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza, José Ramon de la Fuente Arteagabeitia, Chairman/ President of the Port of Bilbao Authority, Uwe Bakosch, President/CEO, <strong>Finnlines</strong> Plc and Håkan Modig, Executive Vice President, Fleet Management, <strong>Finnlines</strong> Plc. 7