DCT Gdansk – a new container terminal – has handled its first car carrier, Asian Emperor, with a capacity of 55,729 tons. The vessel, owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), discharged over 1,700 Mitsubishi vehicles manufactured in Asia at the terminal. Subsequently, the cars were reloaded onto the Nobleza, a short-sea shipping vessel owned by United European Car Carriers (UECC), which transported them to the Finnish port of Kotka, from where they will ultimately reach the Russian market.
On January 2nd, another WWL vessel, Maersk Teal, with a capacity of 44,219 tons, delivered another 1,576 vehicles to DCT for transshipment.
Although DCT Gdansk was primarily designed as a container terminal and is equipped accordingly with 3 post-Panamax cranes, the ro-ro service was intended to be part of its operations from the very beginning. For this reason, there is a 40-meter ro-ro ramp at the terminal, at the end of the 650-meter container quay.
As Fred Kamperman, CEO of DCT, explains, easy access to the terminal from the sea and a large parking area quickly attracted the attention of representatives of the automotive market.
– We have been in talks with all the major players in this market – he says. – Now our hard work is bearing fruit. The call of the Asian Emperor is a great end to 2007, and the visit of the Maersk Teal was an excellent start to the new year, 2008.
The management of DCT Gdansk positively assesses the terminal’s chances of increasing car transshipment. They also draw the attention of car manufacturers and their suppliers to the fact that a large logistics center is to be built in the vicinity of the terminal.