Finnlines - Grimaldi Group

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4 Finnlines celebrates a 15-year Russian cooperation EvEN THE mIgHTy oAk bEgINS AS A HumblE AcoRN, ANd THE SAmE cAN bE SAId FoR FINNlINES ExPERIENcE IN THE RuSSIAN mARkET, wHERE A commITmENT boRN 15 yEARS Ago ANd SuSTAINEd THRougH bAd TImES AS wEll AS good HAS dEvEloPEd INTo oNE oF THE comPANy¹S moST HEAlTHy ANd PRomISINg buSINESSES. Future tonnage for Russia Photo: Marko Stampehl
It all began with the TransRussiaExpress or TRE service, which started life with small ships and high hopes and is now one of the company’s most prominent, flagship operations. With dedication through hard times TRE’s story began in February 1997, when Poseidon Schiffahrt out of lübeck – (now Finnlines deutschland) and its Russian partner, St. Petersburg-based baltic Transport Systems (today Trans-log), began operating two quarter-ramp ro-ro vessels with a capacity of 950 lm apiece between kiel and St. Petersburg via Sassnitz–mukran. The new service between germany and St. Petersburg was soon serving a booming Russian market with five chartered ships and weekly capacity of 4,500 lm. It was not to last, however. within 18 months of its launch, TRE was back to two small ro-ros as the Russian economic crisis hit demand and the service had to downsize to survive. over the years that followed, however, the company’s faith in the market never wavered and as economic conditions improved, we were soon investing again in larger tonnage. In 2001, mS Translubeca became the first ropax to enter the service, complemented by two more ro-ros as we looked to consolidate our market leadership on St. Petersburg. neW ports, more capacity As volumes grew, our terminal needs changed. TRE moved from kiel to lübeck in 2003, and then from lübeck’s Nordlandkai to the privately owned lehmannkai in search of more space and greater flexibility. In 2010, we added ventspils to the service. This was partly to meet the needs of truck transport for latvia but as the rail line to moscow is upgraded, we will also be able to expand our access to the Russian capital and beyond. capacity in the TRE service has risen steadily along the way. Today, the line is serviced by the modern Hansa-class ro-pax ships like mS Transeuropa, with a combined weekly capacity of 6,400 lm and 248 passengers. For Finnlines, which serves Zeebrugge, bilbao, Antwerp, Hull and Immingham in a weekly service out of St. Petersburg, it is part of a burgeoning Russia business which sees six weekly calls into the city of Peter the great, and more expected this year. meanwhile, the new bronka ro-ro and container terminal 40km from St Petersburg will help ...15 years ago AS volumES gREw, ouR TERmINAl NEEdS cHANgEd. ease the pressure on the city’s facilities and accommodate further growth when it is completed in 2015. extended connections and neW vessels TRE may have been the pioneer, but Finnlines and its sister companies in the grimaldi group are now profiting from its experience further to expand their presence in the Russian market, offering connections to the world beyond the baltic via grimaldi’s far-flung network. So it was that in February, Atlantic container line (Acl) announced a new weekly ro-ro service from the uS and canada via Antwerp to Finland and Russia, with the cargo travelling on a single bill of lading. under the new arrangement, Acl vessels calling New york, baltimore, Norfolk and Halifax will connect with Finnlines vessels through Antwerp to access St. Petersburg, kotka and Helsinki. And that is not all. In march, Finnlines launched a new ro-ro service connecting the grimaldi-owned and -operated port THE RuSSIAN PoRT HAS THE AdvANTAgE oF good RoAd lINkS AS wEll AS RAIl coN- NEcTIoNS lINkINg IT To cITIES AS FAR AFIEld AS EkATERINbuRg ANd oN To SIbERIA IF NEEd bE. 5
Page 1 and 2: a Grimaldi Group Company news 1 Fin
Page 3: Russian engagement sia for 15 years
Page 7 and 8: OUR NET WORKS. RELIABLE. PRECISELY.
Page 10 and 11: 10 We are the Baltic Sea TransRussi
Page 12 and 13: HansaLink Passengers & ro-ro servic
Page 14 and 15: Finnlines North Sea & Baltic ro-ro
Page 16: Photo: Marko Stampehl

Finnlines - Grimaldi Group

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