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BÖMLO salmon travels by sea to London

    Salmon container bound for London, loaded onboard MS Vega Vela. Photo: Bremnes Seashore

    Bremnes Seashore, with the export company Ocean Quality, is the first customer using the North Sea Container Line service directly to London from the Westcoast of Norway. The new connection strengthens the export network for salmon from the Westcoast of Norway to the United Kingdom.

    MS Vega Vela set a course directly for London for the first time from Western Norway on Monday, 21st of September. North Sea Container Line new connection strengthens the export network for salmon from Western Norway.

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    Aistis Navikauskas loading boxes of BÖMLO-salmon into the NCL container.
    Aistis Navikauskas loading boxes of BÖMLO-salmon into the NCL container.
    Photo: Bremnes Seashore

    It is a proud day for North Sea Container Line to transport fresh salmon by sea. Together with existing and potential customers in the different market segments, we have analyzed export and import goods between the Norwegian Westcoast and the UK. The result, the start of a new, weekly container service from the Westcoast of Norway to London. NCL has received support from the Norwegian Coastal Administration to move salmon from road to sea; this proves that cooperation between supplier, customer, and governmental institutions is possible.
    Bente Hetland, Managing Director in North Sea Container Line

    BÖMLO salmon on the first ship to London

    Bremnes Seashore, with the export company Ocean Quality, is the first customer to send salmon via the direct service to London. The consignment contains BÖMLO, Bremnes Seashore’s brand for quality salmon. BÖMLO is distributed to selected export markets in Europe and Asia. The BÖMLO brand consists of fresh and frozen whole salmon, as well as various fillet products.

    From manufacturer to customer in 48 hours

    The salmon is slaughtered at Bømlo on Monday morning, picked up with a refrigerated container in the afternoon, loaded on board the ship on Monday evening, and arrives in London on Wednesday.

    NCL has an agreement with Kjell Birkenes Transport to transport the container from the producer to the port.

    From the time the salmon is picked up from the producer on the Westcoast of Norway until it’s delivery to the customer in the UK, it takes approximately 48 hours. A highly competitive transit time compared to transport by road.

    Fresh BÖMLO salmon that goes to quality-conscious customers in the UK is in a hurry. With the new Shortsea service, we reach the market in the UK quickly and efficiently. The processing takes place at the factory at Bømlo, and a direct service from Sunnhordland is perfect for us.
    Truls Ramsli, Logistics Manager at Ocean Quality

    60% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to a modern truck

    A neutral third party, FreiXchange, has assessed the CO2 emissions for the service. They conclude that transporting salmon directly from Bømlo to London gives a 60 percent reduction compared to a state-of-the-art EUR 6 truck, which runs on 20% biodiesel. More salmon (higher load-factor) on the ship increases the CO2-cutbacks.

    From the left: Håvard Apeland (NCL), Martin Torkelsen (NCL), Truls Ramsli (Ocean Quality) and Simon Nesse Økland (Bremnes Seashore).
Photo:Bremnes Seashore
    From the left: Håvard Apeland (NCL), Martin Torkelsen (NCL), Truls Ramsli (Ocean Quality) and Simon Nesse Økland (Bremnes Seashore).
    Photo:Bremnes Seashore

    Norwegian salmon is food with low greenhouse gas emissions. We still have to improve, and transport makes up a large part of the emissions. By moving salmon from road to sea, we reduce transport emissions by as much as 60 percent. This shipment is the first step; our ambition is to transport more fish by the sea in the future.
    Simon Nesse Økland, development manager at Bremnes Seashore

    About Bremnes Seashore

    Bremnes Seashore is one of Norway’s leading suppliers of quality salmon to the world market and has established well-known brands such as SALMA and BÖMLO.

    Production takes place at 23 fish farms and three hatcheries in Hardanger, Sunnhordland, and Rogaland. Bremnes Seashore produces 500,000 salmon meals every day from a state-of-the-art process and processing plant in Kvednavikjo in Bømlo municipality.

    About North Sea Container Line

    North Sea Container Line is a Haugesund based shipping company that offers complete door-to-door products using the sea route. NCL has five ships that sail regular routes from Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven along the Norwegian coast from Egersund in the south to Tromsø in the north.

    NCL was founded in 1994 with an ambition to be the container shipping company at the forefront of moving cargo from road to sea.