BG Freight Line announces first ever container link between Liverpool and Cork

Shipping company BG Freight Line is set to introduce a new weekly container link between Liverpool and Cork.

It is hoped the service, which marks the two port cities’ first direct connection, will offer more opportunities for Irish businesses to access deep-sea services from the US, Mediterranean, Canada and elsewhere now calling at the Port of Liverpool.

Koert Luitwieler, shipping director at BG Freight Line, part of Peel Ports Group, said the expansion will create “even more momentum” for Liverpool, hailing the service as “the last missing link in the connectivity” between Liverpool and Ireland.

He said: “Not only have a large number of cargo owners shown their interest in this route but also a number of deep-sea lines who see this as an opportunity to reposition empties to Cork.”

The new service will offer a quay-to-quay route for tank operators and door-to-door opportunities onwards into the North, Midlands and Scotland – parts of the UK that were previously only accessible from Dublin.

The business development manager for containers at Peel Ports, Roger Megann, commented: “This is the final piece in the jigsaw of a complete Liverpool hub serving key locations in Ireland, with BG Freight now offering four sailings per week.

“Liverpool is the closest deep-water container terminal and I’m confident that Irish cargo owners realise the potential benefits of the significant investment we’ve made at Liverpool2.”

He added: “In fact, there’s already been interest in our highly successful Cargo200 campaign, which underlines the benefits of shipping closer to and from market, and we’ll be officially launching it there soon.”

Shipping company Hapag Lloyd’s UK operations director, Andrew Allen, said: “This new service provides our Cork-located clients with a viable and timely connection alternative for two of our Atlantic slings.

“It also provides us with an additional attractive option for the positioning and evacuation of equipment to and from Cork and surrounding counties.”

The Liverpool-Cork service will start on Monday (March 27).