The first ever container ship coming direct from China has docked and successfully unloaded at the Port of Tyne.
The arrival of the vessel is said to mark a turning point for South Shields as a potential destination for logistics providers seeking an alternative to congested southern ports such as Felixstowe and London Gateway.
“This is the first time we have handled containers coming direct from China and it demonstrates that the port can have a significant impact on easing current challenges of capacity being experienced within the UK shipping and logistics sector,” said Richard Newton, Commerical Director for Logistics at the Port of Tyne.
“We’re very proud to have handled this shipping service direct from China and believe it could play a key role in helping alleviate current challenges in the shipping and logistics sector. Very importantly, it also means people are potentially able to receive the goods they want more quickly.”
The port has regularly proved its ability to handle additional vessels in short notice and provide efficiency handling services for shipping providers. Its location makes it an ideal choice for customers who are seeking a range of routes to market with multimodal transportation options including rail, road, onwards shipping, plus environmentally efficiency port centric warehousing.
The campaign saw the rail company operate intermodal services from the port to Yorkshire twice a week in addition to services to the Midlands once a week.
