Additional calls to Qaanaaq and Ittoqqortoormiit
Royal Arctic Line will have a new sailing schedule in 2024, the changes will be effective from week 9.
For the Atlantic route there will be the following rotation:
Northbound
Aarhus – Reykjavik – Nuuk
Southbound
Nuuk – Reykjavik – Reydarfjordur – Thorshavn – Bremerhaven – Helsingborg – Aarhus
For Northbound, this will mean that the Atlantic ship is expected to arrive in Nuuk on Thursday afternoon instead of Friday morning, which will have an impact on the merchants in Nuuk, as retail stores can be more certain to receive their goods on Friday morning. It will also have an impact on the feeder ships that transport goods to the coast, as the risk of delays will be minimized.
For Southbound, this will mean that Royal Arctic Line will call at Bremerhaven in Germany in the future, which will allow for direct export, but also for import directly from Germany, bypassing Denmark.
Qaanaaq and Ittoqqortoormiit will each receive an extra call, which means that instead of two scheduled calls, there will be three scheduled calls to the cities in 2024.
The settlements around Upernavik and Uummannaq will receive an extra red call as early as 2023 in addition to the already planned calls. However, Royal Arctic Line would like to point out that these calls are red calls, which means that they are only sailed if weather and ice conditions allow it. These additional calls will also apply in 2024.
KEY FACTS – Red calls
Looking at Royal Arctic Line’s sailing schedules, a number of calls have been inserted in the ice areas, marked in red. When ports of call are marked in red, it means that these calls cannot be guaranteed, but will depend on weather and ice conditions. These red calls are not included in Royal Arctic Line’s public service obligation.
Royal Arctic Line does not recommend using red calls for critical cargo, such as winter supplies, essential building materials or other date-sensitive cargo. If it is not possible to call with a red call, goods will be sailed back to the ship’s home port and the goods will be stored at the recipient’s expense and risk until the next scheduled voyage.
