Alternative Ro-Ro, Expanding Its Service Network With The Addition Of Istanbul – France Line
Turkey’s fast-growing Ro-Ro firm Alternative now invests in a new vessel. Always looking to expand Ro-Ro freight in Turkey, through continuous investments, Alternative will offer express services between the ports of Haydarpaşa-Istanbul and Sete-France, with an arrival time of 58 hours, thanks to its new ship “AYSHE”
Alternative, ever expanding its service network and achieving rapid growth in Turkey, now engages in a new investment. As of 30 August, 2014, Alternative began offering express services with its Ro-Ro ship AYSHE.
AYSHE will run once a week between the ports of Haydarpaşa-Istanbul and Sete-France. Having commenced its maiden voyage on August 30, will offer a privileged level of service, connecting two ports in just 58 hours. This line will serve France, Spain and Portugal, in addition to UK, Benelux countries, and North-Western Africa. The trip length of just 58 hours will make it an express service, and will help cater the needs of time-sensitive businesses particularly in textiles and automotives. Furthermore, it will support efforts to improve service quality in all transportation operations towards these regions.
Having invested a total of EUR 100 million since 2013, Alternative responds quickly to the industry’s need through its Ro-Ro service offering a crucial mode of transportation between Turkey and the Europe. Alternative’s plans for the near future involve yet another ship, within the framework of investments to culminate in a port in the coming years, with a view to improving the level of quality of its services.
Ekol’s General Manager for Freight, Murat Boğ, commenting on the new line, said:
Thanks to the new line whereby we will assume the operations of Alternative’s Ro-Ro ship and service, we will be expanding our area of service. This will bring substantial advantages in Ro-Ro freight for shipments to Europe. At Ekol, we attach great importance to Ro-Ro freight services, and the investments in this field. In this context, the cooperation with Alternative Ro-Ro now makes Barcelona and Madrid even closer than Munich and Frankfurt. This service will allow us to offer quicker service compared to double-driver road freight mode, and to perform port-to-port deliveries in 58 hours. Moreover, we will no longer be hindered during our services, due to problems beyond our control, such as queues/strikes in the border gates and ports, or the Transit Documents for Greece and Italy, hitherto significant obstacles for Turkish transportation sector. The lack of comparable services in the Mediterranean only serves to emphasize the importance of this endeavor. We strive to support and lead Turkish exports on all platforms. Our contributions in this context will only expand thanks to our service network.
