DFDS and Cobelfret enter agreement

Copenhagen - Danish international shipping and logistics company DFDS has entered into two mutual space charter agreements with the Luxembourg based freight only ferry operator CLdN Cobelfret, that provides routes to and from Great Britain, Continental Europe and Scandinavia.

In June, DFDS opened a freight ferry route between Gothenburg, Sweden, and Zeebrugge, Belgium, that currently deploys three freight ferries offering five weekly departures in each direction. However, in order to optimise capacity utilisation and reduce the environmental impact, DFDS has entered into two mutual space charter agreements with CLdN that also operates a freight ferry route between Gothenburg and Zeebrugge. The space charter agreements entail that capacity is shared between route operators while all commercial activities remain entirely under the control of each operator.

“We are very pleased to announce our new space charter agreements,” said Peder Gellert Pedersen, Executive Vice President, DFDS Group, and Head of Ferry Division. “The flexibility of the agreements entails that we reduce the environmental footprint while offering a total of ten weekly departures in each direction on our two routes between Sweden and Belgium to support trade and the growth of our customers.”

The space charter agreements are expected to start on 1 January 2020. When the agreements are fully implemented, DFDS and CLdN are each expected to deploy one freight ferry on their respective routes between Gothenburg and Zeebrugge. In addition, DFDS operates a route between Gothenburg and Ghent in Belgium.