“The new call is not only a lifeline between Iceland and Sweden, but also represents the starting point for a competitive and sustainable short-sea offer from the largest container port in the Nordics to the continent. It is very gratifying that our efforts to create conditions for well-functioning intra-European traffic from APM Terminals Gothenburg has yielded results and we are ready to meet future needs,” said Brian Bitsch, Chief Commercial Officer at APM Terminals.

The service is an important supply channel for Iceland, where everything from vehicles to consumer goods such as electronics, food, clothing, medicine, and furniture is imported via Samskip. The export will mainly consist of fish and fish products, which make up about 40 percent of the value of Iceland’s merchandise exports, as well as other important Icelandic export goods such as aluminum and ferrosilicon.

Samskip is a Dutch logistics company with a focus on intra-European traffic within multiple modes of transport. The company’s head office is located in Rotterdam, but was originally founded in Iceland in 1990. Since then, the business has grown continuously with a network that now spans 26 countries. For Iceland, Samskip account for the transport of approximately 40 percent of the country’s total foreign trade.

“We are happy that this solution has come in to place and we see clear gains from calling at APM Terminals in Gothenburg. We look forward to being able to offer our customers the extensive rail network from APM Terminals Gothenburg to the Swedish hinterland. Shipping in combination with rail is by far the most climate-efficient way to transport containers, and sustainability is one of the most important foundations in our business,” said Kenn Mellgren, Operations Manager at Samskip.

With the new container line, additional direct destinations can be added to the port’s growing liner network, strengthening the Port of Gothenburg’s role as the guarantor of Swedish industry’s access to the world.

“The traffic is now underway and the start-up phase has worked well thanks to good cooperation between Samskip and the partners at the port. It is gratifying that we can now offer Iceland and the Faroe Islands to the total range of destinations for the port’s customers,” said Jacob Minnhagen, Senior Business Developer at the Gothenburg Port Authority.

Transshipment, LCL consolidation, intermediate storage and containerization of the goods will take place at the warehousing and terminal operator Mimab’s rail-connected terminal in the Port of Gothenburg. For Mimab, normally handling forest products, steel and project loads, the handling of the Icelandic cargo constitutes a broadening of the company’s business.

“Handling the variety of goods that will be shipped to and from Iceland via Samskip is a new opportunity for us with. We are prepared at the terminal and have had an incredibly good collaboration with Samskip before the start of the traffic, so the conditions are good and I’m certain we will handle this very well,” says Dennis Alfredsson, Operations Manager at Mimab.

Samskip’s ship vessel Helgafell morred at the Port of Gothenburg on Wednesday afternoon and headed for the Faroe Islands and Iceland via Aarhus in Denmark on Thursday morning.