News / Samskip and Boluda launch Spain-UK shortsea service

Photo: Boluda

Intra-European multimodal operator Samskip and Spain’s Boluda Shipping are to launch a new Spain-UK shortsea service this week.

The weekly service will connect Boluda’s recently opened €40m container terminal in the north Spanish port of Santander with the UK’s port of Liverpool.

It is likely to come as something of relief to the UK west coast gateway, where low box volumes recently forced management to put around 125 dockers on notice of redundancy.

The service will be operated by the 803 teu Lucia B, which, according to Vesselsvalue data, is on a five-year time-charter to Boluda, set to expire in March 2025. There will be a call at Dublin on the northbound leg, while in Santander, the partners will also launch a block train connecting to Madrid and Seville.

“We are delighted to initiate this new journey with our partner Samskip, creating the alliance of two leaders in the intra-European transport,” said Boluda Shipping vice chairman Ignacio Boluda Ceballos.

“This new project will offer an innovative solution for our clients, emphasising efficiency and sustainability across all modes of transport. We are particularly proud to showcase the new Maritime Platform in Santander, a project in which we have invested all our efforts.”

Opened in April this year, the new box facility in Santander has an annual capacity of 110,000 teu.

“Having a reliable service to the Spanish market has been on the drawing board for Samskip for a long time,” said its CEO, Kari-Pekka Laaksonen. “This allows us to further expand our sustainable multimodal network to one of the main European shortsea markets.”