Samskip adds Greece to multimodal network

Samskip adds Greece to multimodal network    European multimodal container operator Samskip has added Greece to its network of countries it serves by road and rail.
   To support its new offering the company has appointed Greek forwarder Carel Ltd. to be its agent in the country and launched rail shuttle services linking Mannheim in Germany and Rotterdam in the Netherlands with Athens and Thessaloniki.
   From Rotterdam, connections can be made with Samskip's short sea services to and from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, the Baltic States and Russia, while from Mannheim the whole of Central Europe is served.
   'With Greece's major port, Piraeus, in constant turmoil, shippers are looking with new interest at the scope for intermodal transport to and from Greece,' said Paul J Swaak, director strategic development for Samskip Multimodal Container Logistics.
   'Shipping all-water from Northern Europe to Greece is fraught with problems and trucking becomes more expensive every time there is a rise in the price of a gallon of crude oil. Moving cargo in our 45-foot pallet-wide containers by rail now makes a very competitive and environmentally friendly alternative, faster than sea and cheaper than road transport.'
   He added that the first boxes into Greece arrived within the lead times and have been shipped back loaded.