New feeder service from Hamburg to Kaliningrad and Riga

Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009

Trans-Baltica Container Line has launched a new Baltic Sea feeder service linking Hamburg with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and the Port of Riga in Latvia. In a weekly run, the ice-strengthened 1A-class vessel LAPPLAND with a carrying capacity of 658 TEU and more than 100 reefer connections calls at the Sea Commercial Port in Kaliningrad and the Latvian capital Riga. The first departure of the LAPPLAND from Hamburg was on 5 November 2009.

The newbuild from the Sietas shipyards in Neuenfelde is 118.5 metres long and 18.2 metres wide. The ship has a carrying capacity of 6,896 tons, a draught of 7.10 metres and a maximum service speed of 17 knots.

Thanks to its favourable geographical location and its outstanding infrastructure, the Port of Hamburg acts as a hub for traffic between overseas destinations and the Bal-tic Region.

Traffic with Russia is a major factor in transhipments of cargo on eastern European routes. The Russian Federation is ranked third among the most important trading partners for the Port of Hamburg. Sea-borne container traffic with Russian Baltic Sea ports amounted to 389,000 TEU for the first half of the year 2009. During this period, 35 scheduled departures from Hamburg to Russia were on offer each week. Six scheduled container services are available each week between Hamburg and the ports in Latvia.

The Russian Federation is also one of the most important trading partners for the Port of Hamburg in terms of conventional general cargo such as iron, steel, pulp and machinery. In addition, dry and liquid bulk cargoes such as coal and oil are also imported from Latvia.

Trans-Baltica Container Line offers scheduled liner services in the container and RoRo segment. In Hamburg, the company is represented by the general agents Mann Lines.

Source: Port of Hamburg