RIGA, June 12 (LETA) - A new container shipping route to Portugal has been opened in the Port of Riga, the Riga Freeport Administration informed LETA.

The Freeport Administration informed that the Ocean Network Express shipping company has launched a new weekly route through the Port of Riga - Iberia Baltic Express.

The new route provides a direct connection between Riga and Portuguese ports, while expanding Latvian exporters' and importers' access to European and global markets, Freeport noted.

The service connects ports in Portugal, the UK, the Netherlands, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Germany, running between Leixoes-Lisbon-Southampton-Rotterdam-Gdansk-Riga-Klaipeda-Gdynia-Bremerhaven-Rotterdam-Leixoes. The ships of the line will call at the Port of Riga once a week.

The port administration noted that Ocean Network Express is one of the world's largest container shipping companies. It was created by merging the container businesses of three Japanese shipping companies - K-Line, MOL and NYK. The company currently operates a fleet of more than 240 vessels capable of carrying 1.9 million TEU containers at any one time.

Ocean Network Express started operations in the Port of Riga in January 2025 with the Baltic Bridge Express service, connecting the Baltic and Finnish ports with Rotterdam. The route has now been extended to more European ports.

Freeport stressed that the new route provides a direct link between Portugal and the Baltic ports and improves the regularity, reliability and transit times of cargo deliveries. Containers can be delivered from Portuguese ports to Riga in about a week, and from Rotterdam in four days.

The Port of Riga is the only port in Latvia with regular container shipping lines and specialized container terminals. Currently, the port is regularly visited by nine international container ships, providing connections to major European and global logistics hubs. Container traffic is currently carried out on 11 routes, the largest number of routes in the history of the Port of Riga.

In 2025, the Port of Riga handled 495,700 TEU containers, which accounted for 98 percent of all container cargo handled in Latvian ports. Containers are the second largest cargo segment in the Port of Riga, accounting for around 30 percent of the port's total cargo portfolio, and their development is one of the port's strategic priorities.

As reported, in 2025 the Freeport of Riga handled 16.749 million tons of cargo, which is 7.3 percent less than in 2024.

The Port of Riga is the largest port in Latvia in terms of cargo handled.