Starting from January 2024, Finnlines will consolidate its Biscay services with twice a week connection between the ports of Bilbao, Vigo and Zeebrugge. The service will be performed with the new Eco series vessels that provide vast cargo capacity for any type of freight and are equipped with innovative energy-saving technology.
With this new service, Finnlines together with the parent company Grimaldi Group, want to consolidate their Iberian network with a link from the Atlantic coast to the North Sea and Baltic Sea.
The service will foresee departures from both Zeebrugge and Bilbao on Wednesday and Saturday while from Vigo the service will leave on Thursday and Sunday.
Through the port of Zeebrugge it will be possible to connect services to Ireland, UK, Norway and Sweden while from Antwerp it can access the Grimaldi network to North and South America, West Africa and Far East.
The three ultra-green hybrid ro-ro vessels deployed to the service have a transport capacity of 5,800 lane meters, each, equivalent to around 400 trailers. Furthermore, the innovative layout enables faster and more efficient loading and unloading operations besides enhanced flexibility to load any type of cargo, long, heavy and up to a height of 7 meters.
To reduce emissions, the vessels are equipped with many advanced technologies such as air lubrication, a high-powered battery bank and solar panels. The Eco series vessels fly the Finnish flag.
“Finnlines transports your goods with a focus on sustainability and reliability, maintaining lower CO2 emissions compared to road transport. The strengthening of the service between Bilbao, Vigo and Zeebrugge aims to offer a sustainable and reliable alternative to road transportation,” says Blasco Majorana, Finnlines Line Manager.
“The development of Motorways of the Sea has been at the very core of our Group activities for years and we are therefore delighted by the trust received from our stakeholders who are supporting our actions also in the Bay of Biscay,” says Blasco Majorana.
Finnlines specialises in freight transport and with the introduction of new ultra-green ro-ro vessels, Finnlines consolidates its position as the main maritime service provider between Finland and Continental Europe.