Ellerman City Liners launched a new short-sea shipping service in Janaury. The service connects the Baltics with the UK and the Benelux region. This marks the first-of-its-kind route for the company.
The BALTEX operates on a fixed weekly rotation, calling at Riga, Latvia; Gdynia, Poland; Teesports and Tilbury in the UK; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and Oslo, Norway.
The weekly service offers an effective capacity of 1,160 TEU per leg. It provides fast transhipment connections to Spain and Portugal via the Port of Tilbury. Tilbury is one of the UK’s major short-sea and deep-sea hubs.
The 803-TEU Kristin Scheper and 966-TEU Nova serve the connection.
The new service expands the GB Global company’s presence in the Baltics and strengthens its position in the Rotterdam-Oslo corridor. Further service developments are expected as Viasea integrates with the Group following its acquisition in November 2025.
The BALTEX becomes the latest addition to Ellerman City Liners’ portfolio of short-sea services across Northern Europe. It joins five other lines running: iNEX 1, iNEX 2, iPEX 1 & 2, iPEX 3 and iBEX 1.
The launch comes amid growing demand for reliable short-sea container capacity in the Baltic region. The service offers shippers up to 50 percent lower CO2 emissions in comparison to road transport alternatives.
Peter Andrews, CEO of Ellerman City Liners, said: “The BALTEX marks Ellerman’s first dedicated Baltic service. We’re proud to give customers a fast, reliable and more sustainable link between the Baltics, the UK, Benelux and Iberia – supported by our teams across Europe.”