Starting in January 2024, Finnlines will consolidate its Biscay services with bi-weekly connections between the Spanish ports of Bilbao and Vigo, and Zeebrugge in Belgium.
Each of the three Eco series hybrid ro-ro vessels deployed to the service has a transportation capacity of 5,800 lane meters, equivalent to around 400 trailers. Furthermore, the layout reportedly enables faster and more efficient loading and unloading operations with enhanced flexibility to load any type of cargo, long, heavy and up to a height of 7m. To reduce emissions, the vessels are equipped with technologies such as air lubrication, a high-power battery bank and solar panels. The Eco series vessels fly the Finnish flag.
The service will enable departures from both Zeebrugge and Bilbao on Wednesday and Saturday; the service will leave on Thursday and Sunday from Vigo. Through the port of Zeebrugge, it will be possible to connect services to Ireland, the UK, Norway and Sweden while from Antwerp it can access the Grimaldi network to North and South America, West Africa and the Far East.
Blasco Majorana, line manager at Finnlines, said, “Finnlines transports your goods with a focus on sustainability and reliability, maintaining lower CO2 emissions compared with road transport. The strengthening of the service between Bilbao, Vigo and Zeebrugge aims to offer a sustainable and reliable alternative to road transportation. The development of Motorways of the Sea has been at the very core of our group activities for years and we are therefore delighted by the trust received from our stakeholders who are supporting our actions also in the Bay of Biscay.”
Read more of the latest new vessel updates from the electric and hybrid marine technology industry, here.