Stena increases route capacity

News 27 Sep 2016 by WCN Editorial

In response to demand on the routes from Rotterdam to the UK’s Humber ports, Stena Line is to double capacity between Rotterdam and Killingholme

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The ro-ro freighter CAROLINE RUSS will be brought in to operate three times weekly between Europoort, Rotterdam and Killingholme, with the first departure from Europoort on October 31, 2016. The ship will join the ro-ro freighter STENA SCOTIA on the route, so frequency will double to six sailings per week in each direction.

STENA SCOTIA was introduced on the route in September 2014, as a complement to the two vessels STENA TRANSIT and STENA TRANSPORTER on the Hoek van Holland-Killingholme route.

Annika Hult, Route Manager at Stena Line North Sea said: “We have seen a strong growth in the transport market to the UK over the past several years. We introduced STENA SCOTIA in 2014 in order to accommodate growing volumes of traffic. I am very pleased to announce that we will now take the next step."

“We expect trade to remain strong and want to be in the best place to service our customers and meet additional demands. Europoort continues to develop as an important freight hub for Stena Line and we are confident our customers will react positively to our expanded service."

Stena line declined to answer a specific question from WorldCargo News on whether the increased demand is coming from operators switching from driver-accompanied over the Dover Straits to unaccompanied in the southern North Sea sector in order to avoid the ongoing problems around Calais due to the migrants' crisis. However, in view of the fact that there has been no major increase in UK-Continent trades, clearly route diversion is taking place.