First sailing barge Moerdijk - Duisburg

Today we, A2B-online, celebrated the very special moment of keel laying of our first new-build vessel, the A2B Vision. The keel laying took place at the modern shipyard SEDEF in Tuzla, Turkey. We may call this event very unique as it was the first time in our young existence of the company to see here the start of the first out of two sisters being built. Our clients, our colleagues, our shareholders and not in the last place, our team effort have made this great momentum possible.

The A2B Vision will be an ultra modern hybrid-methanol driven low emission container vessel, especially designed for the shortsea market and able to carry over more than 10 sorts of shortsea containers. Our clients will be able to have their dedicated container transported by A2B-online to and from the United Kingdom.

The A2B Vision is expected to set sail for our trading area by the end of this year. The second ship, the A2B Progress, is expected three months later.

🎬 Watch the video of the keel laying of the A2B Vision >

Our colleagues Ger Quist and Michael van Keulen have contributed to ‘Inside Marine’, one of the leading maritime business to business media platform for over a decade.  The extensive interview with them can be read and viewed (as a shareable brochure) in the magazine published today.

A2𝘉-𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘢. 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘎𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘘𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯-𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘐𝘮𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘯 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘥.
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 >

Thanks
Thanks to the team at “Inside Marine’ for the great end result and the fine way this article was realized.

From the 3rd of February 2025, A2B-online in cooperation with WEC Lines, Tailwind Shipping Lines and Danser Group will offer a new barge connection. This new service, named MDC (Moerdijk – Duisburg Corridor) and operated with the ms TRANQUILO, will start up with 2 sailings per week between Moerdijk (CCT) to Duisburg (Duisburg Gateway Terminal, DGT) and seamlessly connects to existing (short sea) connections from Moerdijk.

’By providing this new service,
we are connecting the ports of Moerdijk and Duisburg
and offer our customers a reliable, sustainable and competitive alternative
to road transport on this important corridor.’

Michael van Maurik
General Manager Transport & Logistics A2B-online Container B.V. 

Frequency of departures Moerdijk – Duisburg Corridor
Duisburg is where the new terminal DGT is located from which it operates sustainably.  Every Monday afternoon and Wednesday evening there is a barge departure from Moerdijk to this new terminal; every Tuesday and Friday evening the barge departs in the opposite direction.  The aim is first to provide a stable service with a reliable scheduled service and to increase the frequency of departures in the future. 

Intermodal hub Moerdijk
With this new service, the Ruhr area is now also accessible from Moerdijk via water. Like the recently launched A2B-online Express that operates between Moerdijk and Northern Italy, this new scheduled service also means an expansion of the Port of Moerdijk as an intermodal hub. At the same time, this barge connection also contributes to making the road network on the Moerdijk-Ruhr corridor more sustainable and less congested. 

Partnerships with WEC Lines, Tailwind Shipping Lines and Danser Group

• With 14 vessels, 17 local offices and a worldwide agencies network, WEC Lines is a Dutch shipping line connecting Southern and North-western Europe, North & East Africa, and the Red Sea with high-frequency, environmentally friendly container shipping solutions.
  Read more about WEC Lines >

• Tailwind Shipping Lines is a German shipping line and subsidiary of Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG and was founded in July 2022. They connect with their services Asia and Europe, originally exclusively in the non-food sector for Lidl, but Tailwind now also offers capacity for other customers.
  https://tailwind-shipping.com/en

• Danser Group has been a leading intermodal operator for over 40 years. With an extensive fleet of owned and chartered inland vessels, Danser has established itself as a prominent service provider in inland shipping, maintaining a strong position in Northwestern Europe.
  Read more about Danser Group >

These 3 companies proved to be perfect partners for A2B-online in realizing this barge service.
WEC Lines & Tailwind Shipping Lines, like A2B-online, are fulfilling their customers’ needs with this service. For Danser Group, the operator of this barge, this service means a valuable extension of its own network. The cooperation in realizing this new barge service offers perspective to intensify the collaborations in the future and further expand the service supply. 

For more information, please contact us:
A2B-online Container B.V.: +31(0)168 334300 
Sales department: salescontainer@a2b-online.com

• Michael van Maurik, General Manager Transport & Logistics (mvmaurik@a2b-online.com)
• André  Mast, Commercial Director (amast@a2b-online.com) 
• Nathan Burrell, Manager UK Sales (nburrel@a2b-online.com Mobile: 07384 118583)

Last Saturday, 11 January, the first fully loaded A2B-online Express with 41 containers successfully departed from Moerdijk /CCT (Netherlands) to Melzo/ RHM (Italy). Effective immediately, this train runs 3 times a week between Moerdijk and Melzo v.v. with a planned expansion to 4 roundtrips from March 2025.

Advantages 

• Direct shortsea connections UK
• Optimisation of the entire supply chain 
• Efficient connection Netherlands-Italy 
• Faster lead times
• Sustainable alternative to road transport 
• Reliable partner in international freight transport
  

Not just a train but a milestone!
For A2B-online, this new intermodal product is not just a train but a milestone! We thank all stakeholders; the ‘customers on the train’ for their support and trust both in this challenge and in A2B-online. Special thanks to all (Partner LTE Netherlands B.V., CCT, our own IT, sales and operations colleagues and all others directly involved) who made this milestone operationally possible.

Filmshot of the first departure A2B-online Express
Watch the video of departure of the A2B-online Express
🎬 Watch the video of departure of the A2B-online Express>

More information
Contact: A2B-online Container B.V. Tel +31(0)168 334300

– Michael van Keulen, Managing Director (mvkeulen@a2b-online.com)
– André  Mast, Commercial Director (amast@a2b-online.com)

2024, a year of challenging market conditions and the introduction of ICS2!  The highlights far outweigh any challenges with many great benchmark moments;  the  start (steel cutting) of our new-building vessels in collaboration with @Technolog Services and yard @Sedef Shipyard. Expansion of our fleet with 75 new trailers and 700 new 45ft containers.

Participating in World Port Days in Rotterdam. Great moments with existing partners (celebration of CCT’s 20th anniversary) and new partnerships (@TOS,  @LTE Netherlands B.V. ) The celebration of the 5th anniversary of our own shipping company (A2B-online Ship Management)  Meeting with  students on school open days, trainees, (new) colleagues, customers, partners, suppliers, relations … with you!  

We confidently look forward to 2025 with the introduction of our new train service between Moerdijk and Mezo (Italy) in January,  Trade Fair Center Messe ‘Transport Logistics 2025’ in Munich at the beginning of June where we are working  together with @Port of Moerdijk, and further construction and arrival of our new-building vessels and much more…  

Without you we wouldn’t be where we are today! On behalf of the entire A2B-online team in the Netherlands, UK and Poland we thank you, our customers, partners, suppliers and associates, for your continued support and trust in 2024.

We wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday and a joyful and prosperous new year. 

31 October 2024 – Logistics service provider A2B-online is proud to announce the launch of its new train service, the A2B-online Express. This new service will see trains running 3 times a week between Moerdijk (the Netherlands) and Melzo (Italy), with a planned expansion to 4 roundtrips from April 2025.

“With the launch of the A2B-online Express, we offer our customers
a reliable, efficient and sustainable solution
for transport between the Netherlands and Italy”.

Michael van Keulen, Managing Director A2B-online Container B.V.

Supply chain optimization through the A2B-online Express
The A2B-online Express is an important step in strengthening the connections between the Netherlands and Italy and fits seamlessly with A2B-online’s objective of continuously optimizing the supply chain for its customers.

This new service offers A2B-online customers not only faster transit times, but also a more sustainable alternative to road transport, helping to reduce carbon emissions. With this move, A2B-online continues to respond to changing market needs and strengthens its position as a reliable partner in international freight transport.

Partnership with LTE Netherlands B.V.
For the traction of the A2B-online Express, A2B-online works together with LTE Netherlands B.V. LTE is an experienced and reliable supplier in European rail freight transport and specializes in providing flexible and efficient solutions under its own license in 13 countries. With a wide network and a strong focus on customer satisfaction, LTE strives to offer its customers the best service.

Managing director Mark Timmermans of LTE Netherlands B.V. is elated about the partnership with A2B-online: “We are very excited about working with A2B-online. A2B-online’s flexibility, decisiveness and professionalism make this a strong partnership. We look forward to building on this new connection together.”

More information
For more information, please contact A2B-online Container B.V. (+31(0)168 334300)

–  Michael van Keulen, Managing Director (mvkeulen@a2b-online.com)
–  André  Mast, Commercial Director (amast@a2b-online.com) 

On Saturday, October 5th 2024, A2B-online was, of course, present at the Open Port Day in Moerdijk! Our Ship Management department and Containers department participated alongside several other stakeholders around the CCT terminal, including WEC Lines, Euro Nordic, GCA, and Move Intermodal. It was a very successful and sunny day, with hundreds of visitors—including many colleagues and their families—enjoying the various organized activities! Thanks to the Port of Moerdijk and everyone else involved for organizing!