WEC Lines announces new services to connect Liverpool and Portugal

Dutch shipping firm WEC Lines will launch new weekly services from the Port of Liverpool next month, connecting Merseyside with several cities in Portugal.

From February 10, the firm will give shippers looking to access markets in central and northern England new options by opening up routes between Liverpool and Lisbon, Leixoes, Sines and Setubal.

Other links offered by WEC Lines connect Liverpool with Ireland, Scotland, Spain, the Canary Islands and Morocco.

Commenting on the expansion, a WEC Lines spokesperson said: “This is a major new development for us, offering a dedicated, faster and direct container service for our customers in the Iberian peninsula, north Africa and the Canaries.

“We’re seeing growing demand to ship via Liverpool to provide better access to the heart of the UK.”

They added: “The additional supply chain benefits that Peel Ports are able to offer, from quayside services to trimodal transport options, have also been important in our decision.”

Speaking further, the spokesperson said WEC hopes the move will be “a first step” in boosting trade passing through the North West.

Ross Thomson, a sales director with Peel Ports, which manages the Port of Liverpool, commented: “We’re delighted to be welcoming a new line to Liverpool, especially as the business drivers for the service underline the overall proposition that we’ve set out for the port.

“The shape of UK logistics is changing, with the North West providing shippers the chance to reduce costs, congestion and carbon emissions by getting closer to the end market.”

Last November, Peel Ports revealed that 50 companies had announced their support for Cargo200, its campaign to get importers and exporters whose goods either begin or end their journey in the North to use the Port of Liverpool instead of South East ports, potentially cutting freight mileage by 200m by 2020.

Advocates of the campaign include automaker Jaguar Land Rover and construction equipment manufacturer JCB.

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