Ports of Stockholm, Hutchison Ports Stockholm, Mälarhamnar and Wallenius Marine have teamed up to launch inland shipping between Stockholm Norvik Port and the strategically positioned Mälarhamnar ports of Västerås and Köping.
Ports of Stockholm’s all-new freight port, Stockholm Norvik Port, opened in May offering new opportunities for efficient and sustainable transportation in the expanding Stockholm and Mälardalen region.
At the same time, the Mälarhamnar ports are conducting substantial expansion projects that will enable them to handle larger freight volumes.
This partnership will facilitate sustainable transportation in the greater Stockholm region, and the project is consequently of considerable interest to us,
…says Göran Söderdahl, Senior Commercial Manager, Wallenius Marine.
Inland shipping also comes in line with the Government’s national freight transportation strategy and will help achieve a substantial shift of freight transportation away from roads, explained Pia Berglund, National Inland Shipping Coordinator at the Swedish Transport Administration. An estimated 90% of all imported goods arrive in Sweden by sea, with the majority destined for the greater Stockholm region.
Meanwhile, Stockholm Norvik Port is located closer than any other container terminal to Sweden’s biggest consumption area, and also offers a shorter route to the open sea than any other east coast port.
Transporting the goods by sea directly to Stockholm Norvik Port, and then on to the Mälarhamnar ports via Lake Mälaren, will offload the currently heavily congested road and rail networks, and will consequently help bring about a more sustainable transport network within the greater Stockholm region, a statement by Ports of Stockholm reads.
If shipping companies, forwarding companies and cargo owners are to be able to operate and use an inland shipping system, the ports must work together in a chain, and there must be suitable fairways for the job. We, the ports, must, therefore, play our part and work together to implement the measures needed to enable this traffic to become a reality in Sweden,
…says Carola Alzén, CEO of Mälarhamnar.
