IMCL will utilize the 672-TEU BCL Iwona sailing from DCT Gdansk every Saturday. Initially, the service will call at two Rotterdam terminals, ECT Delta Dedicated West (DDW) and ECT Delta Dedicated North (DDN) on Tuesday/ Wednesday. This service will also call at terminals in Hamburg.
Some minor reshaping of IMCL’s twice-weekly service will see one vessel dedicated to the new Rotterdam/Hamburg link while another weekly sailing will continue to serve Hamburg and Bremerhaven.
Established in 1996, IMCL is headquartered in Cyprus and provides feeder services for most of the world’s leading deep-sea carriers.
Announcing the new link, DCT Gdansk’s CEO, Boris Wenzel, stated: “We expect there to be strong interest in this new service and we would like to invite any customer interested in Rotterdam feeder connections to contact DCT directly.”
IMCL’s Managing Director Nakis Kassos stated: “We have always had an excellent relationship with DCT Gdansk. Since the very beginning we have offered a direct connection to Hamburg and Bremerhaven. We are confident that this service, connecting DCT Gdansk with the port of Rotterdam, will create new opportunities for all parties in this developing market.”
Other shipping companies calling at DCT include the shortsea multimodal operator Containerships, common feeder operators BCL and Team Lines, and Maersk Line, which operates a dedicated feeder to its present deep-sea hub at Bremerhaven.
Box operators such as Hapag-Lloyd, NYK, CMA CGM, COSCO, Zim, Safmarine, Hyundai, Hamburg Sud, MOL, China Shipping and Maruba Shipping accept DCT Gdansk as the handling terminal for their containers using common user feeders. The newly opened feeder connection to/from Rotterdam will now enhance the possibility of co-operation with lines entering Poland via Rotterdam, for example Evergreen, Yang Ming and K-Line.
DCT Gdansk SA is a Polish registered company majority owned by GIF II (Global Infrastructure Fund II), a specialist fund managed by a member of the Macquarie Group of Companies, headquartered in Australia.
Its new terminal offers year-round ice-free access to container vessels with draughts of up to 15m, providing perfect conditions to serve as a transshipment hub to St Petersburg and the rest of the Baltic. Its three post-Panamax gantry cranes are able to work vessels carrying containers 18-across on deck. A ro/ro facility has also been provided.
The rail terminal, operated by DCT Gdansk, is located adjacent to the marine facility and a major logistics/distribution park is now in the planning stage, making DCT the ideal gateway to Poland and Eastern & Central Europe.
