In English (3.67 MB) - Finnlines
In English (3.67 MB) - Finnlines
In English (3.67 MB) - Finnlines
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Photos: <strong>Finnlines</strong> archive<br />
The new service, which extends the weekly<br />
Bilbao–Antwerp–Helsinki line to St. Petersburg,<br />
has a transit time of seven days, leaving<br />
Bilbao on Wednesday and arriving at its<br />
destination at 7 am on next Wednesday.<br />
<strong>Finnlines</strong> chief executive Uwe Bakosch<br />
brought a high-level team of executives to<br />
the city for the occasion, a measure of the<br />
importance the company attaches to its Bilbao<br />
connection.<br />
“Our aim is to tie Russia even more<br />
closely to our existing European<br />
network, and to open up routes<br />
for it worldwide via Antwerp and<br />
the Grimaldi Group’s services to<br />
the Mediterranean, Africa and the<br />
Americas.”<br />
New boost also for Bilbao port<br />
At an inauguration ceremony at the terminal<br />
hosted by the company along with its longserving<br />
local agent Consignaciones Toro y<br />
Betolaza, Bilbao port president José Ramon<br />
de la Fuente noted that this will be the first<br />
time that Bilbao has had a direct connection<br />
to St. Petersburg.<br />
He added that the new service, linking<br />
Spain to one of the world’s most vibrant<br />
economies, would provide a major boost for<br />
the international development of the Basque<br />
port, which is already recognised as the most<br />
important on Spain’s Atlantic Coast.<br />
Tying Russian markets to<br />
worldwide services<br />
Mr Bakosch reaffirmed <strong>Finnlines</strong>’ commitment<br />
to the Russian market, which is already<br />
expanding fast and which has massive potential<br />
for further growth, adding that the<br />
company would focus particularly on the<br />
automotive, trailer and project cargo sectors.<br />
“Our aim is to tie Russia even more closely<br />
to our existing European network, and to<br />
open up routes for it worldwide via Antwerp<br />
and the Grimaldi Group’s services to the<br />
Mediterranean, Africa and the Americas.”<br />
The inauguration of the new service was<br />
also attended by representatives of the<br />
paper industry, the automotive sector, and<br />
wider industry, as well as the region’s major<br />
forwarders and a sizeable press delegation.<br />
Gerardo Toro, president of Consignaciones<br />
Toro y Betolaza, invited the guests to<br />
inspect the terminal and follow the loading<br />
operations on MS Finnmill prior to its departure<br />
the following day.<br />
New vessels to be assigned to the route<br />
<strong>Finnlines</strong> currently operates three vessels on<br />
the route, calling Bilbao–Antwerp–Helsinki–<br />
St. Petersburg–Turku–Travemünde–Kotka–<br />
Helsinki–Gothenburg. They are Finnmill and<br />
Finnpulp, each with capacity for 3,276 lm of<br />
rolling cargo and 1,350 lm of cars, and Birka<br />
Trader, which has capacity for 1,690 lm of<br />
rolling cargo.<br />
<strong>In</strong> the near future, and provided the trade<br />
grows as expected, <strong>Finnlines</strong> may well assign<br />
one of its coming ro-ro newbuildings,<br />
with the same capacity as those two larger<br />
vessels, to this highly promising service.<br />
Russia is not so far away any more…if you<br />
choose <strong>Finnlines</strong>.<br />
From left to rigth: Gerardo Toro, President<br />
of Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza, Uwe<br />
Bakosch, President/CEO, <strong>Finnlines</strong> Plc and<br />
José Ramon de la Fuente Arteagabeitia,<br />
Chairman/President of the Port of Bilbao<br />
Authority.<br />
From left to rigth: Luc Hens, Managing Director,<br />
<strong>Finnlines</strong> Belgium NV, Gerardo Toro, President<br />
of Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza, José<br />
Ramon de la Fuente Arteagabeitia, Chairman/<br />
President of the Port of Bilbao Authority, Uwe<br />
Bakosch, President/CEO, <strong>Finnlines</strong> Plc and<br />
Håkan Modig, Executive Vice President, Fleet<br />
Management, <strong>Finnlines</strong> Plc.<br />
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