DP World London Gateway welcomed its first ship under the new agreement with the Gemini Cooperation, a collaboration between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd.
The first vessel to call at London Gateway under the agreement announced in November is the Maersk Stadelhorn, which will travel on Gemini’s ME2 / IEX India-Europe service, leaving the UK for calls at the ports of Hamburg, Tanger Med, Colombo, Kamarajar, Algeciras, and Rotterdam.
The Gemini Cooperation recently announced that it has achieved an industry-leading 90 per cent service reliability in its first month of operation.
When fully operational, Gemini will run 57 services across the world with a TEU capacity of up to 3.7 million – equivalent to nearly 12 per cent of global container shipping capacity – with vessels calling at both of DP World’s UK deep sea container ports at Southampton and London Gateway.
Ernst Schulze, DP World Ports and Terminals lead for Northern Europe, said: “The arrival of the Maersk Stadelhorn is a testament to the Gemini Cooperation’s confidence in DP World’s UK container terminals and global supply chain solutions network.
“The Asia-Europe service will enhance vital international trade routes at London Gateway, advancing our ambition to make the logistics hub the UK’s largest container port within the next five years.”
Gary Jeffreys, managing director of Maersk UK & Ireland, added: “It is fantastic to witness our new network brought to life in the UK.
“London Gateway will play a key role in our service to our customers.”