Weekly barge service on the Rhine
From rail to the river: From January 2021, the Switzerland-based logistics provider and terminal operator Swissterminal, a partner of the DP World network, will launch a regular barge service with two roundtrips each week from Basel to various deep sea terminals at the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp. Both routes will go via the hub Germersheim (Germany), which is operated by DP World.
For years, Swissterminal has also been engaged in train connections to the Benelux ports via its affiliate Schweizerzug. The new barge service will begin with two feeder barges of 96 teu capacity each. They will connect the DP World hub in Germersheim with the Upper Rhine terminals. The approximate transit time on both the Rotterdam and Antwerp routes is five days in both directions.
The parties involved in customs clearance are Gaston Schul, which will be responsible for all matters relating to transit documentation in the two seaports of Rotterdam and Antwerp, while VL Verzollung and Logistik AG will handle Swiss imports and exports. (cd)