- Capacity to and from North America increased by 11%, with increased frequency
- Capacity to and from Europe increased by 7%
- One 700 TEU container vessel added to the fleet
Eimskip will change its sailing system at the end of February in order to further strengthen its services to the company’s customers. There has been substantial growth in imported volume to Iceland during recent months which has created increased imbalance in the company’s sailing system. With these changes and an additional 700 TEU container vessel, the company’s capacity to and from Europe and North-America will grow by 7-11%.
Main changes of the sailing system are as follows:
- A new Red Line will serve Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Poland with two vessels. The Red Line will increase the capacity and efficiency of the sailing system and offer growth opportunities.
- The Green Line, which serves USA and Canada, will be optimized and will be serving to and from Reykjavík, but transshipments in Reykjavík will enable increase of both the frequency and capacity on the route. This change further supports development of transportation between North America and Europe, which have grown considerably in recent years.
- The Gray Line, which has been serving the Faroe Islands, Scotland and Scandinavia, will get a new role with weekly services around the coast of Iceland, besides continued services to the Faroe Islands and Scotland. Frequency and capacity in coastal services will grow with weekly services of the Gray Line to the north and east coast of Iceland on the way to the UK, with a call in the Faroe Islands where they can connect with other company vessels. As before, the coast will be served by the Blue Line and the Yellow Line which serve Grundartangi, Reykjavík, Helguvík, the Westman Islands and Reydarfjördur.
- Services of the Blue Line and the Yellow Line will remain unchanged.
- These changes will also lead to less pressure on the port in Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands since most of the containers that have been transshipped in Tórshavn will not need transshipment any more due to direct connection between ports.
Gylfi Sigfússon, President and CEO said: “These new changes in Eimskip’s sailing system will strengthen the whole system and our services. The transportation needs of our customers are constantly changing and it is important for us to be able to fulfill changes in demand by increasing capacity, reliability and new growth opportunities. There has also been increased growth in the countryside here in Iceland and we will therefore start offering again weekly coastal services. The changes further increase Eimskip’s growth opportunities in the company’s market areas in the North Atlantic and the development ahead of the ports in Reykjavík, Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands and Nuuk in Greenland which will enable larger vessels to serve in the area, but larger vessels will lead to more efficient, reliable and environmentally friendly transport.”
To view sailing schedule clicl here
Source: EIMSKIP