APL today started a weekly feeder service linking the Estonian port of Tallinn and Russia's St Petersburg with Rotterdam and Zeebrugge in North Europe.
The North Baltic Express (NBX) deploys two vessels, the Uppland, which APL said has a loaded capacity of 550 TEUs, and Norderoog, with a loaded capacity of 850 TEUs. In the summer, Uppland will be replaced by Norderoog's sister vessel Langeness.
The NBX will connect with APL's Asia/Europe SCX service via Zeebrugge and AEX and JEX services via Rotterdam. Outbound connections to the Far East will go via Rotterdam on the same services. The Americas will be served via Rotterdam on the APX, ATS, ATN and EMX loops.
At Tallinn, the service will arrive in time for the Moscow Express train service, which runs container trains twice a week to Moscow.
"The strengthening of APL's service network in the Baltic region is very much in line with our stated goal of continued expansion in Eastern Europe and Russia," said David Appleton, APL's president of Europe. "We have established a significant presence in the region in recent years and are committed to improving our service to customers there still further in the future."
Poul Kristensen, managing director of APL's operations in the former Soviet Union, said: "This service will provide a much-needed and dependable link to the increasingly important Russia and Baltic markets. By operating our own service, we can improve the integrity of our schedules and give our customers reliable and efficient transit for their cargoes on this route."
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