On Thursday morning (Apr06), the Samskip’s vessel Helgafell departed from the APM Terminal's short-sea terminal in the Port of Gothenburg. This marks the beginning of a weekly schedule where the vessel will dock at the terminal before sailing to Runavik in the Faroe Islands and Reykjavik in Iceland, arriving at Rotterdam after four days. 

Samskip starts new container service between the Port of Gothenburg and Iceland
Caption: Samskip vessel Helgafell approaching the APM Terminals short-sea terminal at the Port of Gothenburg - Image courtesy of Gothenburg Port Authority

This new container line is of great importance to Iceland, as Samskip is the main transport provider for approximately 40 percent of Iceland's total foreign trade.

The import of goods, ranging from vehicles to food, medicine, clothing, electronics, and furniture, is done through Samskip, while the country's exports mainly consist of fish and fish products, aluminum, and ferrosilicon.

Samskip is a Dutch logistics company that specializes in intra-European traffic across different modes of transport, and it was founded in Iceland in 1990. Over the years, Samskip's business has grown extensively, with operations now spanning 26 countries. 

The addition of this new container line to the port's growing liner network will enable more direct destinations, thus solidifying the Port of Gothenburg's role in facilitating Swedish industry's access to the world. 

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.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Helgafell vessel docked at the Port of Gothenburg and headed towards the Faroe Islands and Iceland via Aarhus, Denmark, on Thursday morning.

The complete Gothenburg loop of Samskip includes:

Gothenburg, Aarhus, Runavik, Reykjavik, Grundartangi, Vestmannaeyjar, Runavik, Rotterdam, Cuxhaven, and Gothenburg.