From the 3rd of February 2025, WEC Lines, in cooperation with A2B-online, Tailwind Shipping Lines and Danser Group, will offer a new barge connection. This new service operated with the ms Tranquilo will start up with two sailings per week between Moerdijk (Combined Cargo Terminals, CCT) to Duisburg (Duisburg Gateway Terminal, DGT) and seamlessly connects to existing short sea connections from Moerdijk.
“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”, stated 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.
The world’s largest inland port, the Duisburg Gateway Terminal, will soon be the first terminal to be operated completely greenhouse gas neutral which perfectly fits WEC Lines’ goal of bringing its emissions down to net-zero by 2050. Every Monday afternoon and Wednesday evening there will be a barge departure from Moerdijk to this new terminal; every Tuesday and Friday evening the barge will depart in the opposite direction. The aim is to first provide a stable service with a reliable scheduled service and to increase the frequency of departures in the future.
Intermodal hub CCT Moerdijk
With this new service, the Ruhr area is now also accessible from Moerdijk via water. Seamlessly connecting with WEC Lines’ NWC CAI service that operates between Moerdijk and Iberia, this new scheduled service also means an expansion of the Port of Moerdijk as an intermodal hub. At the same time, this barge connection also contributes to making the road network on the Moerdijk-Ruhr corridor more sustainable and less congested. CCT has played a pivotal role in making this partnership possible.
Partnership with A2B-online, Tailwind Shipping Lines and Danser Group
A2B-online is a logistics service provider focused on providing innovative and tailored transport solutions by truck, ship and rail on and between the Continent and the UK since its inception in 2006. Tailwind Shipping Lines is a German shipping line and subsidiary of Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG and was founded in July 2022. They connect with their services Asia and Europe, originally exclusively in the non-food sector for Lidl, but Tailwind now also offers capacity for other customers. Danser Group has been a leading intermodal operator for over 40 years. With an extensive fleet of owned and chartered inland vessels, Danser Group has established itself as a prominent service provider in inland shipping, maintaining a strong position in Northwestern Europe.
These three companies proved to be perfect partners for WEC Lines in realising this barge service. A2B-online and Tailwind Shipping Lines, like WEC Lines, are fulfilling their customers' needs with this service. For Danser Group, the operator of this barge, this service means a valuable extension of its own network. The cooperation in realising this new barge service offers perspective to intensify the collaborations in the future and further expand the service supply.c
