1 October marks the launch of the new RoRo set-up

"This will result in lower emissions and higher vessel load factors," says Magnus Svensson, President of SCA Sourcing and Logistics.

Today, three RoRo vessels depart from Umeå every week: two to Kiel and one to London and Rotterdam. From 1 October, there will be two departures per week, one on each route.

With the new set-up, the vessels’ average speed can be reduced from around 15 knots to 11–12 knots. Combined with higher load factors, particularly on northbound voyages, this means that the vessels can be utilised more efficiently.

"By planning our logistics more intelligently, we can reduce emissions per tonne-kilometre by around 40 per cent," says Magnus.

Expanding to Piteå

An important part of the new set-up is the extension of the route to Piteå. As time is freed up in the timetable, vessels that previously only called at Umeå can continue north to the Port of Piteå at Haraholmen. There, cargo from SCA’s Munksund paper mill will be loaded, while recovered fibre and other cargo will be unloaded.

Calling at Vlissingen

Another change is that vessels carrying kraftliner and pulp to Western and Central Europe will call at Terminal Vlissingen instead of Rotterdam. This applies to both the RoRo vessels and the additional bulk vessels.

"The approach to Vlissingen is short and relatively straightforward for our vessels, which means we can save a couple of hours per voyage. This is another way for us to make our transport more efficient and reduce emissions. We also believe that our already high delivery reliability can be improved further," says Magnus.