BG Freight doubles Liverpool frequency

Peel Ports' affiliate BG Freight Line will call Liverpool twice/week from Rotterdam

Rotterdam-based BG Freight Line, the short-sea/feeder specialist affilated to Port of Liverpool owner Peel Ports, has stated that it will increase the frequency of its services to Liverpool "as a direct response to market demand."

JORK RULER and DORIS SCHEPERS will join the MARGARETA B to provide an express twice-weekly connection between Rotterdam and Liverpool. JORK RULER will also service Dublin, while the other two vessels will serve Belfast. The upgrade comes a year after BG Freight launched its first service to Liverpool.

The additional sailing will enhance connectivity between deepsea European and the Northern UK hub ports. Timely connections and quick and easy discharge link the service to the heart of the UK market via Peel Ports’ Manchester Ship Canal container shuttle service, says the operator.

The shuttle service, itself upgraded due to customer demand earlier this year, will move in excess of 20,000 TEU in 2013. The cost and carbon benefits of the shuttle service have already attracted feeder customers such as Kellogg, Kingsland Wines, Princes Foods and Regatta Clothing.

Ross Thompson, Commercial Director at Peel Ports said: “We are delighted to welcome BG Freight Line’s second weekly feeder service between Rotterdam and Liverpool. The launch of this second weekly service confirms both a response to increased intra-European short sea demand, as well as our commitment to further enhance deep sea schedule synchronisation and integrity between Rotterdam and the growing NW Port and markets.

“The new service reflects Peel Ports’ intention to invest across our services so that we can offer our customers the most efficient and cost-effective routes to their markets.”

UK Chancellor earmarks £35 million for Mersey Dredging Project

• Dredging scheme key part of £300 million Liverpool2container terminal project

UK Chancellor George Osborne has announced a £35 million grant from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund towards the dredging of the approach channel in the Mersey Estuary.

The dredging of the channel to a depth of 16 metres will allow the safe transit of post-Panamax vessels and is a key part of the £300 million Liverpool2 container terminalproject.

The Chancellor made the announcement during a visit to the Port of Liverpool where he met representatives from businesses in the region who stand to benefit from thedredging project, as well as apprentices who are training for jobs in the local maritime industry.

“This project is good news for Merseyside and the North West, but also important to the UK as a whole,” said Osborne.

As well as creating 5,000 jobs, upgrading Merseyside’s maritime infrastructure demonstrates that this country is open for business, and ready to compete in the global race.”

The grant has been awarded to the Mersey Docks and HarbourCompany as a contribution towards the cost of dredging the Mersey Estuary at Seaforth, which will also widen the tidal access window for a range of other river users.

“This is exactly the kind of public sector investment the country needs because it will drive growth in the UK’s private sector by improving infrastructure,” added Mark Whitworth, chief executive of Peel PortsGroup – parent company of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company.

“The grant will critically support the region’s maritime economy, and it will help Peel Ports expand the Port of Liverpool with our new £300 million container terminal Liverpool2.”

The Chancellor also announced the start of the terminal’s construction, and that the new 600,000 TEU capacity facility will be open for business in 2015.

The maritime sector in the Liverpool City region employs 28,000 people across 1,700 businesses and contributes £2.6 billion to its annual economic output – 15 percent of the total economic output for the region.