On June 6, with the arrival of the Cape Fulmar, a feeder vessel with a capacity of 1400 TEU, at DCT Gdansk, CMA CGM, one of the world’s three largest ocean carriers, became the first major deep-sea container shipping line to include Poland’s newest terminal in its global network. It is expected that the Cape Fulmar will call at DCT Gdansk regularly as part of its weekly voyages on a route connecting four container terminals in Hamburg with Gdynia, Klaipeda, and now also with DCT Gdansk.
Fred Kamperman, CEO of DCT Gdansk, reports that the Cape Fulmar unloaded 27 twenty-foot containers and six forty-foot containers at the terminal, and loaded two forty-foot containers.
– For a first visit to our terminal, we are satisfied with this volume of cargo. When it was being loaded onto the ship in Asia, we were still rushing to complete all the work necessary to start our operations on June 1 – the date set 2 years ago. I am convinced that we will attract more cargo and ships here, now that we have managed to demonstrate our operational capabilities.
– For a first visit to our terminal, we are satisfied with this volume of cargo. When it was being loaded onto the ship in Asia, we were still rushing to complete all the work necessary to start our operations on June 1 – the date set 2 years ago. I am convinced that we will attract more cargo and ships here, now that we have managed to demonstrate our operational capabilities.
– Personally, I am very happy to see CMA CGM in our port. – adds Kamperman. – They claimed they would be the first to join us and have been very supportive of us the whole time. They even lent us several dozen containers for training purposes, and now DCT Gdansk has been included in the schedule of the CMA CGM FAS Baltic service. We will strive to prove that we are worthy of their trust.
Roman Łysik, Director of the Polish United Baltic Corporation, the agent for the CMA CGM group in Poland, said: – I am very happy that it is CMA CGM that is the first deep-sea carrier at DCT Gdansk. I must quote here my speech given at the End of the Pier Show, a reception hosted by DCT to celebrate the completion of an important stage of construction, when I said that CMA would be the first ship at DCT Gdansk. The carrier was the first in the Gdynia terminals in the past, and the same happened in Gdansk.
Danuta Biłat, Commercial Director of DCT Gdansk, expressed her thanks to those contractors who recognized the new terminal as their preferred port of discharge. – For several months, we have been working hard with local freight forwarding companies explaining what benefits we can offer. – she says. – I want to thank those whose cargo we are handling on today’s maiden voyage for their commitment and belief in our capabilities.
Among the unloaded containers were 23 twenty-foot containers filled with steel products. The cargo from Xiamen, China, was organized by Sea-Logistics Sp. z o.o. from Gdynia, and its further transport in Poland will be handled by the Gdynia office of Rentrans Cargo Szczecin Sp. z o.o.
The President of Sea-Logistics, Dr. Tomasz Kubicki, is very pleased with the opening of the new terminal in Gdansk. – Now that the Polish economy is growing rapidly, we need world-class terminals if exports and imports are to take place quickly and without obstacles. Our company will cooperate with DCT Gdansk, and we hope to handle many more cargoes at this port. – he says.
– Reaching DCT Gdansk, connected by a new railway line directly to the country’s entire railway infrastructure, is very simple. – praises Paweł Sramski, Director of the Rentrans Cargo Szczecin Sp. z o.o. office in Gdynia. – Road connections are also quite good, although of course we all hope that the Polish authorities will accelerate the construction of the A1 motorway. We are also waiting for the start of the next stage of the expansion of the Northern Port in Gdansk, which is the construction of a logistics center right next to the terminal. Its creation will greatly benefit the economy of the Tri-City.