Shipping line Transfennica is to include a weekly direct call to Tilbury from Bilbao from 24th February. After discharging, the ship will head for Zeebrugge.
It said the direct connection offered a fast transit time from Spain to the London and the end of the week was traditionally very busy for export to the UK.
In January Transfennica replaced two smaller chartered vessels for two owned ConRo’s with a capacity of 195 trailers, 12 drivers and 640 TEU.
Customers will have the option to ship a substantial part of their Thursday and Friday collections during the weekend and to deliver all over the UK by Sunday evening or Monday morning. In addition to driver accompanied, unaccompanied and containers, the direct service to Tilbury is also suited for out of gauge, heavy and hazardous cargo.
Transfennica director Michael van den Heuvel said: “Legislation is an increasing problem for international hauliers and by providing a direct connection to the UK this enables our clients to bypass the weekend driving restrictions. Fuel costs continue to go up and with our solution most companies can save some money”.
