The first vessel on Ellerman City Liners’ new Iberia North Europe Express (iNEX) direct service called PD Ports on 29 November.
The dedicated express service connects Spain and Portugal with the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Kristin Schepers, a vessel capable of carrying 800 containers, arrived at Teesport after a four-day sailing from Aveiro, Portugal to discharge containerised cargo for onward distribution via PD Ports’ dedicated road haulage fleet.
The new route, which also includes port calls in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Cadiz in Spain, Setubal in Portugal and Tilbury in the United Kingdom is currently running fortnightly and will increase frequency to once a week in 2023.
Geoff Lippitt, chief commercial officer at PD Ports, said, “We’re delighted to be welcoming Ellerman City Liners to our roster at Teesport with this service; the only direct route between Iberia and Teesport.”
He went on to point out, “This unique service offers best in class transit times and, when running as planned in 2023, will further boost our weekly roster of vessel calls, reaffirming our position at Teesport as the Northern gateway for international trade.”
PD Ports said that with an anticipated 70% growth in container volumes predicted by 2029, it continues to make significant investments in its infrastructure and technology at Teesport, including the development of the Northern Gateway Container terminal – set to triple overall container handling capacity – and the introduction of an efficient automated gate system which reduces paperwork and improves the speed, visibility and accuracy of operations.
