Maersk Returns to Liverpool
Image Courtesy: Seago LineDanish-based container shipping company Maersk Line is launching a new service, operated by its subsidiary Seago Line, connecting Dublin, Liverpool and Algeciras as the company aims to boost its existing network.
With the new service, Maersk will provide a direct service between the British Isles and Spanish Algeciras that will connect the whole of Mediterranean and North Africa.
“With competitive transit times and convenient berthing windows, we are well-placed to serve customers who seek new opportunities through this Mediterranean connection. Furthermore, our customers located in the Liverpool hinterland can now access South European and North African markets with Seago Line as a complimentary addition to our existing offer, while for Irish cargo this becomes an attractive alternative to the current feeder option via Rotterdam,” says Seago Line General Manager for UK & Ireland Robert Clegg.
The new service will be Maersk Group’s first ever direct connection to Dublin, supplementing the existing Latin American service to Cork operated by Maersk Line. This is also the first time that the Maersk Group Company has used Liverpool for UK cargoes in over 10 years.
Seago Line’s Irish Sea service will offer 6 days transit time between Algeciras and Liverpool and 7 days between Algeciras and Dublin. The first call to Liverpool is planned on April 13 and to Dublin on April 14.
The announcement yesterday follows the news last month that WEC Lines, which is owned by MSC, has introduced a number of new services to the Port of Liverpool. X-press, the world’s largest independent common carrier of containers, has also launched a new service via the city.
“The two services that have already been announced, combined with these additional new services, are a strong signal of intent from lines in the run up to the opening of Liverpool2. Carriers are being increasingly convinced of the arguments around the strength of shipping closer to market via the North-west; partly due to the excellent support we’ve received from cargo owners who are looking for ways to reduce costs, carbon emissions and congestion in their supply chain,” says Patrick Walters, Commercial Director at Peel Ports.
Liverpool2 is to have a phased opening, with marine trials beginning in April and other elements of the semi-automated terminal coming online throughout Q2 of 2016. The first phase of the new terminal will be fully operational in the autumn.
