DFDS to transport 700,000 tons of paper annually for paper producer Stora Enso on a new route between Gothenburg and Zeebrugge. DFDS will acquire two freight ferries for the service. The contract runs for a minimum of five years. DFDS will increase weekly departures between Sweden and Belgium from 8 to 12.
DFDS and Stora Enso have today entered into a 5-year agreement to annually carry around 700,000 tons of paper and board products between Gothenburg and Zeebrugge. Stora Enso has options to extend the agreement with three years.
Stora Enso is a leading global provider of renewable solutions in packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions and paper. Stora Enso has annual sales of EUR 10.5bn and 26,000 employees.
“We are very pleased to expand our cooperation with Stora Enso and look forward to supporting their growth through an efficient and flexible route operation. We likewise look forward to offer the transport market additional capacity and services between Sweden and Belgium”, says Peder Gellert Pedersen, Executive Vice President, DFDS Group, and Head of Ferry Division.
To accommodate the volumes of the agreement, DFDS will open a route between Gothenburg and Zeebrugge which is extending the service frequency between Sweden and Belgium from 8 to 12 weekly departures.
The new route will be operated by three freight ferries. Two freight ferries — Slingeborg and Schieborg — will be acquired from third-party owners for DKK 270m, and one will be transferred from the Gothenburg-Ghent route, that currently deploys four freight ferries.
The route is expected to open Mid-June.
Source: DFDS