Receiving increasing amounts of export cargo from the Faroe Islands and Iceland, Smyril Blue Water complements its signature reefer truck service with cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives for its clients.
Adding Iceland to its year-round sailings during 2009 proved to be a wise move for rolling cargo specialist Smyril Blue Water. According to Managing Director Bent Rasmussen, the company has seen demand soar for its export service to the Continent, with prospects of further growth related to a new intra-European door-to-door container solution.
Meanwhile rising export of farmed salmon from the Faroe Islands has failed to fulfill expectations as much of the tonnage has been shipped to the United States via Britain.
“We are not engaged in this particular market as we deem it not in line with our overall business strategy to establish regular liner traffic between the UK and the Faroe Islands,” Mr. Rasmussen said. “Other carriers are already operating such routes, and based on current volumes of trade between the Faroes and the UK, it would not make much economic sense to open a third route.”
Smyril Blue Water has had to watch much of the business generated from the recovery of the Faroese aquaculture industry pass by, largely because of an unexpected hike in demand from the US resulting from problems which have hit Chilean fish farmers.
“We waited patiently for a boost that did not materialize to the extent that we had hoped and planned for,” Mr. Rasmussen said. “The sudden opening of the US because of the collapse in Chile’s salmon export has created a new market for air cargo to the States via Glasgow and London. At the moment there is not much we can do about it except observe as it unfolds.”
However, as Mr. Rasmussen pointed out, farmed Atlantic salmon is still exported fresh from the Faroes to Continental Europe, and in this market Smyril Blue Water has a competitive edge because of the delivery speed offered by its combination of reefer trailers and fast ro-ro (roll-on/roll-off) ferries.
“This rolling cargo concept is the best when freshness, quality, and time is of the essence.”
Smyril Blue Water operates approximately 150 trailers between the Faroe Islands and Iceland, and has ready access to a fleet of more than 600 trucks and trailers on the Continent through its sister companies in the Blue Water Group. Using pallet-wide trailers on wheels offers the advantage of a speedy service in an unbroken cooling chain all the way from consignor through to consignee.
“As for temperature-controlled goods like chilled or frozen seafood, using reefer trucks is often the fastest way the products will reach clients in Europe.”
‘One-stop shopping’: But what about exporters who are less dependent on swiftness in delivery and therefore rather looking for cheaper ways to ship their goods?
Here, Mr. Rasmussen said, a less expensive and greener alternative is forthcoming: door-to-door container transport based on the concept known as non-vessel operating carrier (NVOCC).
“As people become increasingly weary of traffic and pollution, logistics providers are pressed to come up with more environmentally friendly transport solutions. In this context, Smyril Blue Water wants to play an active part in the development of new ideas. So we have developed an intra-European logistics service based on door-to-door container transports. This is a product that is basically identical to the successful global NVOCC concept, however limited to intra-European container transport by sea, rail or river, together with short pre and after-carriage by road. Our coverage areas include the Mediterranean, Morocco, Nigeria, the Canaries, Southern and Western Spain, Portugal, Ireland, the UK, Benelux, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries, Russia and CIS.
“By combining a number of recognized container service providers, Smyril Blue Water can offer more frequent departures as well as a geographically broader coverage compared to what individual operators can offer by themselves.”
Mr. Rasmussen said that Smyril Blue Water expects a number of Faroese and Icelandic fish processors and traders to show interest in the new option because of its economic and environmental advantage, as it reduces road transport in favor of short-sea lines. “With this we provide our customers with the opportunity of getting everything from one source — our well-known service with fast moving cargo on wheels as well as the slower, but cheaper and more environmentally friendly, container solutions. Call it one-stop shopping.”
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