Rotterdam and Oslo to create a green corridor with Samskip’s hydrogen-fueled ships

The City of Rotterdam and the City of Oslo have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a green corridor for short-sea shipping that will be served by Samskip’s next-generation zero-emission SeaShuttle vessels.

Under the partnerships, the two European port majors will work on accelerating green transition in shortsea shipping, to support the debut of Samskip’s green hydrogen-fueled container ships.

“Samskip celebrates both the cooperative endeavors of this partnership, as well as this momentous occasion and the positive results that come from the green transition efforts,” Samskip Holding BV CEO Kari-Pekka Laaksonen, said.

“We all must take responsibility for the future of our industry and planet and contribute to a cleaner and brighter future for everyone. We at Samskip continue to support such initiatives wholeheartedly. This signing brings us one step closer toward the exciting launch of SeaShuttle, the zero-emission hydrogen vessels that will be utilized in this project, and we look forward to continuing to nurture the relationship we have built between Rotterdam and Oslo.”

Both cities have invested in decarbonization initiatives as part of their commitments to the advancement of the maritime industry. As part of the largest multimodal network in Europe, Samskip has major terminals in both cities.

“We are so proud to be a part of such a project. This is a perfect example of different companies and entities pulling together to accelerate greener logistics to help us achieve our ambitious decarbonization targets for the upcoming years,” Samskip Director, Business Development Magnús Salberg Óskarsson, said.

“Our partners have very similar objectives and goals to Samskip, and we are happy to work with hands-on contemporaries that help us make a real difference!”

Two Samskip zero-emission SeaShuttles will be utilized to service the new green corridor.

The 135-meter ships are being built by Cochin Shipyard, and are due for delivery in the third and fourth quarters of 2025.

They will be among the first zero-emission short-sea container vessels in the world to use green hydrogen as fuel. The ships will operate weekly loops between Rotterdam and ports in the Oslofjord region establishing true end-to-end corridor services.

Samskip’s vessels will be powered by a 3.2 MW hydrogen fuel cell each, with diesel generators installed for backup. Each vessel is expected to cut around 25,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year when powered by fuel cells and by using green shore power at the port of call.

The project is co-funded by the Norwegian state enterprise ENOVA.