This Saturday, 5th of November, a new ro-ro vessel will be added to the route.
The new service is a response to the increase in two types of goods: perishable goods in ro-ro traffic to the Iberian Peninsula, and in the opposite direction, the increase in goods transport during the Christmas period.
The Fred. Olsen and Baleària route linking the Canary Islands with the Iberian Peninsula, via the Huelva port of Palos de la Frontera (Huelva), is reinforcing its services from this Saturday, 5th November, in view of the increase in demand. The new service will be added to the two departures that the ship Marie Curie has been making up to now, meaning that the carriers will have three weekly de partures. This new trip will be made with a RO-RO vessel, exclusively for cargo transport, which will cover a new route departing from the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and from Huelva on Saturdays at 8 a.m., connecting with the rest of the Islands using the company’s fast ferries.
The service between the Islands and Huelva offered by the company is characterised by an integral logistics system, which, thanks to its road transport model, allows the goods to be available immediately on arrival at their destination. Once the ship arrives at the port, the goods continue their journey to their final destination, without the need for the long collection times characteristic of container transport. This translates into a tra nsit time of less than 40 hours, specifically 34 hours for the Iberian Peninsula to the Canary Islands, and 38 hours for the Canary Islands to the Peninsula, which is especially important for the logistics of perishable products.
Along these lines, the increase in demand from the Canary Islands to the Iberian Peninsula has emerged as a result of various agreements with the Canary Islands fruit and vegetable sector, which benefit substantially from the road system. As a result of contacts made at the Fruit Attraction fair, held in Ifema last month, an agreement has been reached with the Provincial Federation of Fruit and Vegetable Exporters’ Associations of Las Palmas (Fedex), whereby the route increases exports of Canary Island tomatoes to different European countries by more than 200%, as well as other products such as bananas. The new timetable benefits Canary Island horticulturists, who thanks to the more agile and operational ro-ro system, are able to get their goods to European markets early in the morning on Mondays.
On the other hand, the Christmas season is expected to see a significant increase in freight transport in the opposite direction, from the Iberian Peninsula to the Canary Islands, with an expected 40% increase in the movement of goods, both perishable products and other types of goods that experience a significant increase in demand during the Christmas festivities.
This reinforcement of the freight service will allow greater availability for passengers on the route. Currently, and after 4 years in service, the route was present a high demand for passengers and freight, which on many of its journeys leads to 100% occupancy of the garage. The movement of part of the cargo to the new ship will free up space on the voyages of the regular ship on the route, the Marie Curie, making it possible to offer more places for passengers.
To contract the services on this new timetable, it is necessary to arrange the transports with the commercial team of Carga by emailing Reservascarga@cbscanarias.com.
