Initially there will be two ships operating the route making five calls a week, although the company plans to increase the frequency to reach a targeted increase of 20,000 teus, bringing the total volume fed by Containerships through Teesport to almost 80,000 teus pa.
Charles Patton, Containerships’ managing director, said, “We are delighted to announce Teesport as our strategic freight hub for Northern Europe. The port is the best placed location, has the capacity to handle the volume swiftly, is cost-effective and fits seamlessly into our planned routes and schedules”.
“We now have 15 offices and 15 vessels that will allow us to offer fast and frequent onward connections with transit times from 12 up to 21 days depending on ports of origin and destination using our fleet of 40′ and 45′ pallet-wide containers”, he added.
Commenting on the new service, David Robinson, CEO of PD Ports the owners of Teesport, explained that the port will offer unique short-sea connections between Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Libya, Turkey, and Tunisia in the South linking via the UK, with the Baltic States, Finland, Poland, Russia and Scandinavia in the North. The two services also offer possibilities for transport to and from Belarus, Ukraine and Central Asia.
“This increased Containerships traffic is just part of the growth in containers which PD Ports expects to see this year. Major UK retailer Tesco is opening its new 1.2m sq ft warehouse within the port’s estate in August and Asda, which has had an import centre located at Teesport since 2006, is also predicting an increase in volumes, said Robinson.
