PD Ports Welcomes First Vessel on New Short Sea Service from Iberia

PD Ports has welcomed the first vessel call on a brand new, dedicated, service from Spain and Portugal into Teesport.

The Kristin Schepers, a vessel capable of carrying 800 containers, arrived at Teesport on Tuesday after a four-day sailing from Aveiro in 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, Cadiz, Setubal and Tilbury, is currently running fortnightly and will increase frequency to once a week in the new year, demonstrating the growing demand for global shippers to use Teesport as the gateway into the UK.

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.

“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.

“We’re thrilled to be supporting the team at Ellerman with this new service and look forward to working alongside them to further develop the route.”

The introduction of the new service demonstrates effective collaboration between both PD Ports and Ellerman to meet market demands and exceed customer expectations by offering an unrivalled service.

Peter Andrews, Commercial Director at Ellerman City Liners, said: “Teesport being known as an important and efficient short-sea hub for the Midlands and Scotland is a great addition to our new service serving customers from and to Iberia. With a new direct link from Cadiz and Portugal into Teesport and back, we are closing a missing link.”

With an anticipated 70% growth in container volumes predicted by 2029, PD Ports continues to make significant investment in its infrastructure and technology at Teesport to meet market demand.

This includes 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.