Finnlines, a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group in Northern Europe and the Baltic, presented its weekly freight service from the Port of Bilbao to the Port of Gdynia (Poland), with departures on Saturdays.
The presentation was attended by Blasco Majorana, Finnlines Line Manager; Ivan Jimenez Aira, President of the Port Authority of Bilbao; Gorka Zabala, General Manager of Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza and Monika Krzepkowska, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Spain.
For Blasco Majorana, this new route “reinforces the connections between Northern and Western Europe” and, in this way, “opens new opportunities for more efficient and sustainable freight transport and constitutes a cost-effective and practical intermodal alternative to road transport for goods with origin or destination in Poland to or from Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Finland”.
The Head of Finnlines’ North Sea and Spain Lines also added that this new line “allows connecting Poland directly with the Grimaldi Group’s global network, offering links with the Far East, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, West Africa, South America and the east coast of the United States”.
For his part, Gorka Zabala, General Manager of Consignaciones Toro y Betolaza, emphasized that this is “a step of great relevance for the European logistics chain. The new service we are presenting today makes evident and enhances the value of the latest-generation hybrid vessels of the Finneco class, capable of reducing CO? emissions by up to 90%, efficiently transporting rolling and project cargo, containers, vehicles and a wide additional range of goods. We are talking about a future that is already present: a more sustainable, innovative and competitive maritime transport”.
The service has been operated, since the end of last June, with three latest-generation hybrid Ro-Ro vessels, designed to transport a wide range of cargoes, including rolling cargo, breakbulk, containers, automobiles and project cargo. These vessels have one of the lowest carbon footprints on the market thanks to the use of lithium-ion batteries, solar panels, an optimized hull design and an innovative air bubble system that reduces hydrodynamic friction.
The three sister vessels providing this service, Finneco I, Finneco II and Finneco III, have a cargo capacity of up to 420 semi-trailers or 2,500 vehicles. They belong to the Eco Class which incorporates the most advanced technology: lithium batteries for zero-emission maneuvering and port stays, 600 m² of solar panels to produce sustainable electricity for use on board and incorporate systems to increase energy efficiency and an innovative lubrication procedure to optimize hydrodynamics, among other elements.
