"This will result in lower emissions and higher vessel load factors," says Magnus Svensson, President of SCA Sourcing and Logistics.

With the new setup, the vessels’ average speed can be reduced from around 15 knots to 11–12 knots. Combined with higher load factors, particularly on northbound voyages, this means that the vessels can be utilised more efficiently.

"By planning our logistics more intelligently, we can reduce emissions per tonne-kilometre by around 40%," says Magnus Svensson.

An important part of the new setup is the extension of the route to Piteå. As time is freed up in the timetable, vessels that previously only called at Umeå can continue north to the Port of Piteå at Haraholmen. There, cargo from SCA’s Munksund paper mill will be loaded, while recovered fibre and other cargo will be unloaded.

Another change is that vessels carrying kraftliner and pulp to Western and Central Europe will call at Terminal Vlissingen instead of Rotterdam. This applies to both the RoRo vessels and the additional bulk vessels.

"The approach to Vlissingen is short and relatively straightforward for our vessels, which means we can save a couple of hours per voyage. This is another way for us to make our transport more efficient and reduce emissions. We also believe that our already high delivery reliability can be improved further," says Magnus Svensson.

SCA is a major operator in several ports in the northern Sweden, and is responsible for vessels, freight handling and logistics planning of transports. A further step in this initiative is that SCA’s RoRo vessels have now also begun calling at the Port of Piteå at Haraholmen.

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