COPENHAGEN: DFDS A/S is opening a new route between Calais and Sheerness in response to increasing demand for additional ferry capacity for unaccompanied freight (trailers) between France and the UK, a news release said.
The first departure is planned for 1 June 2021. The new route will have one daily round trip operating 7 days per week, deploying one freight ferry (ro-ro).
Most of the unaccompanied freight carried today by DFDS on the two Dover Strait routes – Dover-Calais and Dover-Dunkirk – is expected to be transferred to the new route.
The port of Sheerness is located around 70 km north of Dover and thus closer to the London area and mid-England. The port has capacity to support further growth in unaccompanied freight volumes.
The combination of an unaccompanied freight route and the rail infrastructure in the port of Calais is expected to grow the market for rail solutions for freight from Italy, Spain and southern France to the UK.
In addition, the new route enables DFDS to offer an intermodal transport solution between Turkey and the UK by combining the freight ferry route to Sète (in southern France) with rail transport to Calais.
DFDS provides ferry and transport services in and around Europe, generating annual revenues of EUR 2.3bn.