Port of Kiel welcomes “LISCO MAXIMA”

The brand-new “LISCO MAXIMA”, the biggest ferry to sail under the flag of Lithuania, was given an official welcome Tuesday to mark her first call in Kiel’s Ostuferhafen. The ship will from now on be employed in the regular liner shipping service between Kiel and Klaipeda. She replaced the older, somewhat smaller, “LISCO OPTIMA” on the same route. Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co KG), welcomed the vessel on behalf of the port and handed over the traditional first-call commemoration plaque to her captain.

“I am delighted that DFDS LISCO is putting its biggest and most modern ship into service via Kiel”, said Claus. Praising the company he added “by doing so, DFDS LISCO is demonstrating that even in difficult economic times it remains a reliable partner of the Port of Kiel on Baltic routes”. With six departures a week, Kiel-Klaipeda is currently the most important ferry service between Germany and the Baltic states. “The new ship has the potential to shift cargoes from road to sea transport across the Baltic”, Claus declared.

The “LISCO MAXIMA” was built in Italy and is of 25,760 gross tons. She is 200 m long, 26.6 m wide and has a service speed of 23.5 knots. The sailing time to Klaipeda is 21 hours. Along with a freight capacity of 2,500 lane metres for trucks and trailers, the newbuilding also boasts a very high passenger capacity, particularly when compared with her predecessor. Instead of the 325 passengers previously carried, up to 600 can now be accommodated.

To cope with the rising passenger demand on the route, the port has converted handling facilities in the terminal building in the Ostuferhafen in time for the inauguration of the “LISCO MAXIMA” service. Among other things, the terminal waiting area has been considerably expanded again. Commented Dirk Claus “the Baltic region continues to grow in significance as a holiday destination. We are happy that we can now also offer a very high standard of handling to tourists in the Ostuferhafen.

The SEEHAFEN KIEL operates Kiel’s commercial port on behalf of the Schleswig-Holstein state capital of Kiel and is a 100% subsidiary company of the City. The Ostuferhafen is the largest port area on the Kiel Fiord and has been developed, in four stages to date, into a modern cargo and logistics centre. Last year well over 2 million tons of cargo were handled, most of it in RoRo traffic services with Russia and the Baltic region. In addition, bulk cargo and containers are now loaded and unloaded in the Ostuferhafen.

(Source: Transport Weekly)