German retailer Lidl’s in-house shipping and logistics arm, Tailwind Shipping, has joined a consortium of European shipping firms to launch a twice-weekly barge service from the Dutch port of Moerdijk to the inland German hub of Duisburg.
It will join intra-Europe container carrier WEC Lines, European door-to-door multimodal operator A2B-online, and Dutch barge operator Danser, which will run the service using its barge, Tranquilo.
The move will strengthen Moerdijk’s position as a European shortsea hub and as a gateway for Lidl’s imports into Germany, as well as third-party shippers’ cargo now also carried by Tailwind.
Its Asia-Europe service has two European calls – Barcelona and Koper. The Slovenian port connects into central and northern Europe through rail links, while Tailwind runs a two-vessel feeder service from Barcelona to Moerdijk.
European shortsea box carrier WEC Lines also calls at Moerdijk on its NWC-Iberia service that deploys one 865 teu feeder ship and also calls at Bilbao, London Thamesport, and Rotterdam.
“With this new barge service, we offer a competitive alternative to road transport for our clients in the Ruhr area into Southern Europe and vice versa”, said Brian Vaz, intermodal analyst & projects, WEC Lines.
“This supports our commitment to respond to market demand while ensuring a timely, secure and eco-friendly delivery,” he added.
In an interview last year, WEC Lines CEO Caesar Luikenaar said one of the company’s near-term goals was to become “more involved in the intermodal connections linked to its vessel network”.
Meanwhile, Europe-UK multimodal operator A2B-online has used Moerdijk as a key hub since its inception, and has five services into the Dutch port from the UK east coast, and it said the new barge service to Duisburg would represent an important alternative to trucking.
“By providing this new service, we are connecting the ports of Moerdijk and Duisburg and offer our customers a reliable, sustainable and competitive alternative to road transport on this important corridor,” added Michael van Maurik, general manager transport & logistics.
