With the approval of the government, ferries are coursing to and from Kiel as usual: trips are organized according to a schedule, truck drivers and passengers going on the necessary journeys are able to travel. Of course, special attention is paid to internal security measures. Passengers from Sweden are practically no longer transported to Lithuania.
"Our ferries are one of the few solutions for Lithuanians abroad to return to Lithuania, and for those who travel for business reasons - reach other European countries. In response to the coronavirus situation, we have reduced the number of seats sold, nevertheless, the number of passengers has increased compared to both - last month and last year" says Jonas Nazarovas, AB DFDS Seaways Managing Director.
During the first month of quarantine, the number of cargoes delivered by DFDS ferries increased over one percent. "If we put all trucks with semi-trailers, passenger cars and other vehicles in one line, the total length of such line would reach more than 123 kilometers. Just like from Vilnius to Druskininkai " Nazarovas calculates.
According to him, this growth was due to several reasons. One of them was the problems faced by carriers: long lines of trucks formed on the Lithuanian-Polish, Polish-German borders. The other - various restrictions and production stoppages in some industrial sectors. As a result, logistics companies had to adjust their regular routes.
"We are working to ensure the continuous supply of relevant personal protective equipment, food products, equipment for industry and construction and other goods. However, our top priority right now is security. We aim to maintain high standards of safety and ensure the supply of the necessary security measures" explains the CEO of AB DFDS Seaways.
Nazarovas added that he would like to thank all 731 members of the DFDS team - crews at sea and employees on shore, thanks to which Lithuanians abroad can return to Lithuania safely and on time, and important cargo is transported. During the first month of the quarantine, DFDS ferries employed a total of 600 sailors, other employees on shore took care of the smooth running of the business support functions. For example, in order to optimize the flow of customer inquiries, specialists from the marketing and on-board service department joined the call centre team.
Nazarovas is pleased that no employee has been diagnosed with coronavirus infection during that month.
"We must always ensure the safe transport of passengers and cargo by sea, so emergency situations management is not new to us. However, this pandemic disrupted the work of many organizations. It has not been easy to adapt to rapidly changing regulations, a certain information chaos. We have made every effort to make the processes as smooth as possible for our passengers and customers, and we have established close cooperation with local and central government, health care institutions, border control and police services" he said.
During the first month on quarantine, DFDS ferries coursing on the route from Germany and Sweden to Lithuania and back, have sailed almost 100 thousand kilometers or around 50 thousand nautical miles in total.
