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High fives for Liverpool

[ April 3, 2019   //   ]

Peel Ports says that  the world’s top five shipping lines are all now calling at Liverpool following confirmation that COSCO Shipping is to take slots on an existing Canadian service via Montreal with OOCL. It joins MSC, Maersk, CMA and Hapag in starting or growing a presence in Liverpool.

The decision follows a successful trial by COSCO Shipping in October, since when MSC has also introduced a new call to Liverpool, as part of a rotation including Canada, Turkey and various southern European ports.

It is the third major line announcement for Liverpool in the last few months, as the 2M shipping alliance confirmed at the end of 2018 that Liverpool will be a permanent call on its TA4 transatlantic service.

Peel Ports chief executive Mark Whitworth,  said: “There’s a real sense of momentum in Liverpool just now. Hundreds of cargo owners have already given their backing to the port as their natural trade gateway, and now more shipping lines are coming on board too. In these uncertain times, one thing that is sure is Liverpool’s prime location for serving the heart of the UK marketplace. We’re confident that this is just the start with COSCO shipping, especially with the recent success of our new MSC service too.”

General Manager of COSCO’s agents China Shipping UK Agency, Alan Newell,  added: “Our trial at the Port of Liverpool last year was very successful. On the strength of that we are looking to market slots to our customers with a view to growing traffic on the route. It’s clear that Liverpool has a lot of potential as a gateway for many cargo owners in the north of the UK and we are confident that we are capitalising on this growing demand at the right time.”

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