The new sailing began with the first call of the ms A2B Spirit (ex-Norfeeder), a Sietas 151 type 508-teu container ship, the fourth of this class owned and operated by A2B.
Commenting on the new sailing Hutchison Ports ed Clemence Cheng said: “London Thamesport offers its customers a service tailored to their specific demands. We are seeing a growing demand in the short-sea container market as a response to increasing labour shortages in the driver-accompanied market and uncertainty around Brexit. We are delighted that, working closely with our partners at A2B-online, we are able to help them grow their business by providing a highly efficient service and direct access to key Southeast markets.”
Gerard de Groot, md of A2B-online, said: “With all the initiatives we have developed to offer first-class customer service, volume is still increasing despite talks regarding Brexit. We have spare capacity to adjust more sailings to London Thamesport if and when required.”
Bart van ‘t Hof, group sales director A2B-online, added: “If it is decided to go for a hard Brexit more volume is expected to be routed from Moerdijk to London Thamesport. This is because of customs procedures that may apply that will have a considerably (negative) effect on the supply chain for goods arriving in the UK accompanied by either Channel Tunnel and/or Dover by ferry