ACL launches speedy Ireland to North America service

The company said its transit times are shorter than any similar service between Dublin/Belfast and North America via a transshipment port in the UK or continental Europe. The time savings are achieved by using Liverpool as the first port in and out of Europe, eliminating intermediate European ports.

On the North American side, the service will offer direct calls at the ports of Halifax, New York, Baltimore and Norfolk via Liverpool. The service launched on May 10 in New York on the Atlantic Sun, which will call Baltimore, then Liverpool where it will connect with JSP Anna, which will then arrive in Dublin on May 26 and Belfast on May 27.

JSP Anna will be the first West Bound sailing of the service, leaving Belfast on May 27 and arriving in New York on June 6.

Peel Ports’ ACL and BG Freight Line have agreed to coordinate their schedules to optimise connection times at the Port of Liverpool, and berth priority will be given to ensure those smooth connections.

David Huck, COO at Peel Ports Group, said: “The fact we operate container terminals in Liverpool and Dublin, and that BG Freight Line is part of the wider Peel Ports Group, means we have much more control over how we manage this service, which in turn helps reduce those transit times and brings a real service differentiator to the market.

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“Liverpool is the closest deep sea port to both Dublin and Belfast – with continental ports more regularly used often 3-4 times further away – so this is a really positive development. The service will also use less fuel as it will require significantly less steaming time to and from Belfast and Dublin, which brings further benefits from a sustainability perspective.”

Koert Luitwieler, CEO at BG Freight Line, said: “This is great news for importers and exporters and a significant upgrade to existing services. As well as having a quicker transit time, the reliability of this service will significantly improve due to the additional time we now have in the schedule.”