Eimskip switching U.S. call from Norfolk to Portland, Maine

   Eimskip said it will add Portland, Maine as a port of call in the end of March 2013, replacing the port in Norfolk, Va.
   The Icelandic shipping company said “the main objective of this change is to shorten transit time between North-America and Europe and to offer biweekly port calls.”
   In 2011, Eimskip added a new route to its sailing system to connect North America to northern Norway and said “the market has embraced this new shipping route that has opened new markets for Eimskip customers in the North Atlantic.”
   It said Portland is well located for Eimskip´s liner system in the North Atlantic and suitable for the needs of the company’s customers. Eimskip said it will operate a warehouse and office in Portland and continue to receive less-than-containerload shipments in Norfolk and New York.
   Gylfi Sigfússon, chief executive officer, said “in 2009 Eimskip withdrew one vessel from its North-America services. This was done to meet the recession in volumes in the North Atlantic. In 2011 Eimskip added a vessel and began sailing from the North of Norway to Boston, being the first containerized shipping company to cross the Arctic Circle with regular port call in North-America. The new vessel has gradually been increasing volume and revenue.
   “The new route will as well create new opportunities for Eimskip’s customers to transport goods from the U.S. to Newfoundland with a biweekly short-sea service with a three day transit time,” he said. – Chris Dupin