Feature, Freight News, Sea

New era for Port of Tyne

[ May 15, 2014   //   Chris ]

A new container service linking the Russian port of St Petersburg with the Port of Tyne in South Shields has got underway with the arrival of the largest container vessel ever handled at the Port of Tyne.

A call by the 1578teu Calisto has marked the start of a new eight-day frequency service by Maersk’s shortsea Saea-go line from Newcastle to St Petersburg. At 168m long and almost four times the capacity of most container ships she is also the largest container vessel to call at the Port of Tyne’s Container Terminal.

Port of Tyne commercial manager logistics, Richard Newton, said: “The Port’s recent £6m investment in a second gantry crane has enabled this increase in business. The Calisto is almost 60 per cent longer than most container vessels visiting the Port, and its capacity of 1,578 twenty feet equivalent size containers confirms the real potential to further grow the Port’s container volumes.”

The new service is expected to boost container exports by around 50%.

((Pix – Tyne Seago))

Tags: Port of Tyne, Sea-Go