Southampton Container Terminals Secures Four New Weekly Services

Southampton Container Terminals Ltd (SCT) is pleased to announce that it has secured four additional weekly feeder services to the terminal’s new feeder facility on berth 203.

Three of the services will be operated by X-Press Container Line and will link Southampton with Belfast, Dublin and Bilbao.  The fourth service will be operated by OOCL and link Southampton with Grangemouth and all four services will begin operating later this month.

Commenting on the new services, Patrick Walters, Managing Director, SCT, said:

“We are pleased to see this new feeder business coming to SCT to use our feeder facility and dedicated mobile harbour crane.  It will help to achieve the company’s target of making transhipment traffic 10% of annual throughput by the end of 2007.  The more boxes we can move by sea results in fewer boxes travelling by road.  These new services further reinforce SCT’s decision to invest in the new facility.”

Andrew Lynch, Commercial Manager, X-Press Container Line, added:

“These new services demonstrate our confidence in the approach to handling feeders shown by SCT, illustrated by the investment in providing a feeder berth and dedicated crane.  We consider that Southampton is a strategically useful connection port especially for Iberia, Ireland and other UK and continental ports, and should there be a demand from our mainline customers, we will look to strengthen and increase our network connections.”

Once the new services begin at SCT, the terminal will handle a total of eight weekly feeder services, including the existing services operated by Clydeport Shipping, BG Freight and X-Press Container Line.

Notes to Editors

1. DP World Southampton is the UK's second largest container terminal.
2. In 2007, DP World Southampton handled 1.9 million TEU - a 26% increase compared to 2006 (1.5 million TEU).
3. DP World is one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, with 44 terminals and 13 new developments across 28 countries.
4. In 2007, DP World handled more than 43.3 million TEU across its portfolio - an increase of 18% on 2006.

As at 1 March 2008