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Samskip joins forces with Boluda to offer Spain-Ireland-Liverpool link

[ September 28, 2023   //   ]

Samskip and Boluda Lines are to launch weekly shortsea container services between Santander, Dublin and Liverpool.

They say that the new service, which starts on 30 September, will provide a cost competitive alternative to road and ferry routes and will substantially reduce CO2 emissions.

The 803teu Lucia B will depart Santander on Saturday with a three-day transit time to Dublin port, and Liverpool’s Royal Seaforth Container Terminal two days later before returning southbound voyage to Spain.

Equipment available include 45ft high cubes, reefers and flatracks – or shippers can provide their own equipment.

The hub in Spain will be Boluda Maritime Terminals Santander. Opened in April 2023, after investments approaching €40 million, the brand-new facility has a capacity of over 110,000teu a year.

There are also block train services to and from Madrid and Seville and cross-docking services are also offered at Santander.

Samskip’s head of network optimization and Iberia trade, Ólafur Orri Ólafsson, said: “Providing highly efficient, reliable, and sustainable shortsea products is at the centre of what we do, and we are thrilled to continue to do just that in this new partnership with Boluda Lines.

“With our long-lasting experience and local knowledge in the Irish, UK and Spanish markets, particularly in clearance knowledge and inland distribution expertise, we will be able to add significant value to our customers, to whom we remain dedicated to in our mission to provide the most reliable service.”

Samskip says that the call in Liverpool adds a new option for shippers in the Ireland-UK trade.

Vice chairman of Boluda Shipping, Ignacio Boluda Ceballos, said: “In this new project, we will connect Santander with the UK and Ireland, offering an innovative solution for our clients, emphasizing efficiency and sustainability across all modes of transportation; rail, land, and maritime. We are particularly proud to showcase the new Maritime Platform in Santander, a project that our entire group is dedicated to, and in which we have invested all our efforts.”

Boluda Lines already operates services to the Canary Islands and West Africa.

Samskip chief executive Kari-Pekka Laaksonen, Samskip concluded: “Having a reliable service to the Spanish market has been on the drawing board for Samskip for a long time,” while chief executive of Boluda Shipping, Gorka Carrillo Fernández, commented: “This collaboration represents a crucial step forward in enhancing connectivity between Spain, Ireland, and the UK, while aligning with our commitment to sustainable and efficient transport solutions. Boluda Lines’ decades of maritime experience in door to door reliable transport solutions perfectly combined with Samskip’s extensive network will undoubtedly deliver unique value to our customers and reinforce our shared dedication to excellence.”

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