The Peel Ports Group, the UK’s second-largest port operator, has officially unveiled its new £30m RoRo berth at London Medway, which is a key freight service facility.
The group invited guests to the Kent port of Sheerness for a ceremony recently to mark the completion of the new in-river vessel berth and floating pontoon, which will boost capacity for RoRo cargo handling.
As part of the official opening, the port welcomed one of Finnlines’ new Finneco-class hybrid RoRo vessels—a regular feature of the weekly service connecting London Medway with Finland, Poland, Belgium, and Spain. The same operator Afloat adds is part of the Grimaldi Group, which almost three years ago launched a Zeebrugge-Rosslare Europort route, as alluded to below.
This new UK freight route between Kent, northern Europe, and continental Europe offers customers shorter transit times and more efficient loading and unloading operations, supporting faster and more reliable supply chains.
Finnlines launched its freight service in September, with further connections available to Belgium, Spain, and Ireland, which will be operated with three hybrid RoRo vessels.
With each vessel holding a cargo capacity of 5,800 lane meters, equivalent to around 400 trailers, the service improves the route network, providing customers with shorter transit times and increased cargo capacity, as well as enabling faster and more efficient loading and unloading operations.
London Medway's new berth and pontoon will cater for RoRo vessels arriving at the port, carrying commodities such as automotives, paper reels and timber, construction machinery and building materials, project cargo, agribulks, and steel.
The new berth is one of several investments made at the port, with more expected in coming years, such as a new rail connection to improve how freight moves in and out of the site, making the whole operation even more efficient and integrated.
