Port of Varberg Exports 1 Millionth Cubic Meter of Timber in 2017

Scotline, Magnusson Shipping and the Hallands Hamnar are delighted to advise that on Thursday 7th December 2017 a new record was set with the export of over 1 million cubic meters of Swedish sawn timber in a calendar year.

In 1979 Peter Millatt of Scotline and Sandy Catto of Scotlog approached Sven Asare of Magnusson Shipping with an idea to ship pulp logs from Scotland to Sweden. The liner service exporting sawn packaged timber from Sweden to the UK began in 1982 and the total volume shipped from Varberg that year was 29,000.00 cbm. The volume has grown steadily from these early days as has Scotline’s fleet of ships – which now stands at 11, ranging from 1400DWT to 4600DWT.

When MV Scot Mariner left Varberg on Thursday 7th December, a record - 38 years in the making - was broken. Magnusson Shipping took the bookings, Scotline supplied the vessels and Hallands Hamnar’s stevedores loaded the 1 millionth cubic metre of packaged timber to be shipped from the port in 2017. This is equivalent to over 11,000 full lorry loads in a calendar year, putting Varberg firmly on the map as Sweden's largest timber port.

It has taken the combined efforts of Scotline, Magnusson Shipping and Hallands Hamnar along with the continued support of the Sawmills who have regularly chosen to ship through the port of Varberg. Today we ship between 40 - 80,000 cbm each month, loading 4-7 ships a week from Varberg. We are proud to have grown together with Magnusson Shipping and the port of Varberg who have helped Scotline to become one of the leading timber carriers from Sweden to the UK.

However, Hallands Hamnar are not satisfied with breaking this record but continue to invest in the port, having recently bought a new Gottwald crane from Lapphoja in Finland, which has 100-tonnes capacity. This gives them opportunity to diversify their product portfolio and attract new business. Emil Vranjancu, Commercial Director of Hallands Hamnar, said: “It is so great that so many Sawmills choose Varberg to export their timber, but we see it as a consequence of the fact that we have invested hard in strengthening both service, logistics and our capacity in Varberg. Faster handling means more departures and shorter stock times, which provides faster cash for our customers.”

Scotline would like to offer their congratulations to Magnusson Shipping and Hallands Hamnar on this incredible milestone and would also like to thank the Sawmills and Agents for their support. We look forward to a continued successful partnership with them all for many years to come!