News / Ellerman to launch Baltex service as it expands shortsea network

Photo: Ellerman City Liners

UK-based container shipping line Ellerman City Liners is set to launch its first service dedicated to the Baltic states at the end of this month.

The carrier, part of the GB Global group that also includes forwarders Uniserve and Metro Shipping, said the new Baltex service, due to launch on 28 January, would link up with its UK-Iberia, UK-Netherlands, and UK-Poland services at Tilbury.

One interesting aspect of the Ellerman network, from the point of view of European shortsea shippers, is its use of Tilbury as a transhipment port, rather than London Gateway, just a few km down the Thames, allowing intra-Europe customers to bypass the congestion issues regularly seen at deepsea hubs.

Calling at Tilbury also serves the group’s in-house needs – Uniserve operates its port-centric ‘mega terminal’ in the port and provides some of the base cargo for Ellerman.

“The weekly service offers a capacity of 1,160 teu per leg and provides fast transhipment connections to Spain and Portugal via the port of Tilbury, one of the UK’s major shortsea and deepsea hubs,” it said.

The firm has assigned two vessels from its pool of chartered ships – the 970 teu Nova (above) and the 800 teu Kristin Schepers – to operate the service, although an Ellerman executive explained the actual intake of the ships was 1,160 teu.

The Baltex string will offer the following port rotation on a weekly basis: Riga-Gdynia-Teesport-Tilbury-Rotterdam-Oslo-Riga.

“The Baltex marks Ellerman’s first dedicated Baltic service, and we’re proud to give customers a fast, reliable and more sustainable link between the Baltics, the UK, Benelux and Iberia – supported by our teams across Europe,” said Ellerman City Liners commercial director Peter Andrews.

The new service also represents the first call of the carrier at Oslo, and the company added that “further service developments are expected in line with the common integration of Viasea services into the Ellerman Network, following its acquisition in November”.

According to Xeneta’s eeSea liner database, Viasea offers scheduled liner services connecting Baltic ports with the UK port of Immingham, as well as Rotterdam, and has three feeder vessels on charter.

“We’re excited about the opportunities this acquisition brings,” Mr Andrews said. “It marks a major step towards completing our European infrastructure jigsaw and enables us to deliver a truly comprehensive door-to-door service across Europe.

GB Global founder Iain Liddell added: “This acquisition isn’t just about growth, it’s about redefining shortsea shipping for the future.

“By combining Ellerman’s UK expertise with Viasea’s agile operational shortsea footprint and sustainable solutions, we’re building an extensive European network that delivers speed, reliability, and greener solutions for customers across Europe,” he said.