Kursiu Linija Expands

Short sea operator Kursiu Linija has expanded its north European services by shifting its Belgian operations from Oostende to Zeebrugge. At the same time Kursiu Linija has begun close co-operation with Belgian logistics provider ECS to develop services linking France and the Baltic States/Russia markets.

Martin Dale, marketing director of Kursiu Linija, says, "By switching our service to Zeebrugge we can improve services for Benelux and north European customers moving goods to and from the Baltic States, Russia and also the UK and Ireland.. Zeebrugge is a busy but uncongested port where we can offer rapid transhipments on a purpose-built vessel which can handle the 45 ft high-cube pallet wide units our industrial clients want. We will be able to move higher volumes of these high-cube containers to and from Ireland through our alliance with C2C. We will also be working closely with ECS to improve services for French companies moving goods to and from the Baltic States and Russia. ECS is a door-to-door logistics provider with a large fleet of the same 45 ft high cube pallet wide reefers, curtain siders and dry boxes that Kursiu Linja provides, so there is a natural fit which will benefit all our clients."

By moving to Zeebrugge Kursiu Linija will also be able to lift deep sea feeder cargo from Zeebrugge to the Baltic, benefiting APL clients. It will also offer direct services linking Rotterdam and Teesport with Zeebrugge.

Kursiu Linija recently chartered the Expansa, the first vessel to serve the Baltic/Europe routes with all high cube container capacity. In addition to the new vessel, Kursiu Linija has recently taken delivery of 100 new curtain side 45 ft high cube boxes and 100 high cube pallet wide refrigerated containers, bringing its fleet of modern containers to over 3,000 units.

Arijus Ramonas, managing director of Kursiu Linija, says, "Strong and growing demand from companies that see the advantages of using a dedicated short sea service over the difficulties of long haul road transportation is driving our expansion. This move to Zeebrugge is one more key step in our strategy of building secure, quick and reliable links between east and west Europe."

Lithuania-based Kursiu Linija is an intra-European carrier providing cost effective door-to-door transportation services between the Baltic States, Poland, the CIS and the UK and Northern Europe. Its fleet of five vessels serves Klaipeda, Riga, Kaliningrad, Gdansk, Teesport, Ipswich, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Bremerhaven.