Ocean Network Express Archives

Port of Felixstowe welcomes The Premier Alliance

Posted on 23 July, 202529 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe has welcomed the first call by The Premier Alliance’s FE4 service between Asia and North Europe. The 24,000 TEU HMM Southampton arrived at the UK’s largest container port on 20 July 2025 from Singapore via the Cape of Good Hope.

The Premier Alliance was formed in February 2025 by Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM (formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine) and Yang Ming. The alliance is a five-year extension of their previous partnership and aims to deliver a reliable and flexible service with expanded global coverage.

Commenting on the new service, Clemence Cheng, Executive Director of Hutchison Ports and Port of Felixstowe CEO, said: “The Port of Felixstowe has long been the leading UK port for trade with Asia and we are delighted to welcome the Premier Alliance to our roster of services. The FE4 service adds further options for shippers through Felixstowe and Felixstowe provides the Premier Alliance with first-class facilities as well as the deepest channel and quayside facilities in the UK. The unique extent of the deep-water access at Felixstowe is particularly important for services such as the FE4 which call at the UK as first port in Europe. They offer shippers the quickest transit times but arrive with the deepest drafts. Using Felixstowe avoids congestion and minimises delay.”

Peter Livey, HMM Managing Director (Great Britain), said: “We are proud to see the HMM Southampton inaugurate the FE4 service at the Port of Felixstowe. This marks a significant milestone in our commitment to delivering efficient and reliable shipping solutions across Asia and Europe. The FE4 service enhances our UK calling capabilities by offering faster transit times and first port access at Felixstowe. This additional call complements our existing UK port coverage and allows us to offer greater flexibility and resilience to our customers.”

Takahiro Kikuchi, Managing Director of Ocean Network Express (Europe) Ltd, said: “We are pleased to be offering a new UK port call at Felixstowe as part of our FE4 Asia-Europe service. This service, operated in partnership with the Premier Alliance, presents new opportunities to ONE and our customers. We look forward to successful collaboration with the Port of Felixstowe.”

Jack Wu, Managing Director of Yang Ming (UK) Ltd, said: “The Port of Felixstowe is the historical UK port of call for Yang Ming and we are delighted to be returning with the Premier Alliance updated FE4 loop. This allows us to provide an enhanced level of service scope, complementing our existing services. We look forward to working with the Port of Felixstowe in ensuring the highest quality of service to our customers.”

The full port rotation of the FE4 service is Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Le Havre, Algeciras, Singapore, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Yantian, Cai Mep, Singapore, Felixstowe.

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New Quay Cranes for Southampton Port

Posted on 20 February, 2025 by Keith McKinley

DP World is making a £60m investment in the UK’s trading capacity with an order of four new quay cranes for its Southampton container terminal.

The new cranes will be the largest quay cranes in Europe and can perform quad lifts, moving two 40ft containers together from ship to yard in a single move, reducing the time taken to load and unload large container vessels.

The quay cranes, which stand taller than Big Ben and each weigh more than 2,000 tonnes, are scheduled to arrive from mid-2026. Designed to service the largest ships currently in operation, including 24,000 TEU megaships, the cranes have an operational lifespan of approximately 25 years and are a key investment to future-proof DP World Southampton’s trading capabilities.

Aart Hille Ris Lambers, Vice President – Commercial, Ports & Terminals at DP World in the UK, said: “Our order for these new large quay cranes comes at a crucial time for DP World Southampton. We are continually innovating and investing to enhance our operations to give our customers, who operate the world’s largest container vessels, a smooth and efficient service.

“As our productivity and handling rates at Southampton continue to grow year-on-year, and we develop our nationwide end-to-end supply chain network, we’re always looking for ways to improve our infrastructure and our offer to customers, while serving the national interest.”

The order of the new quay cranes follows the announcement that DP World Southampton was presented with a ‘Productivity Improvement Award’ from global shipping giant ONE (Ocean Network Express), recognising the logistics hubs efforts to significantly increase handling rates between 2022 and 2023, further demonstrating the growth and innovation across DP World’s UK terminals.

In addition to its hubs at Southampton and London Gateway, DP World’s offer includes logistics, forwarding and European transport capabilities, all of which are being integrated into the company’s global network. Operating in 78 countries, DP World handles 10 per cent of global containerised trade.

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Greener Inland Haulage Options in France

Posted on 5 June, 20247 August, 2025 by David Priestman

Ocean Network Express (ONE) is now able to offer customers in France the opportunity to transport their cargo inland using trucks powered by biofuel in partnership with logistics company Transmanut.

Operating in the Le Havre area, the trucks will use Oleo100 fuel, which is made from 100% French rapeseed residue. The fuel provides a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions and is a completely renewable energy resource. Transmanut is one of the main suppliers for ONE’s road services in France, and they provide dedicated drivers for all of ONE’s cargo deliveries.

Thierry Le Moal, Head of Operations for ONE France commented, “We are excited to be working with Transmanut, a longstanding trusted inland haulage vendor to offer this new green inland option to our customers in France. ONE is always looking for innovative ways to reduce CO2 emissions and find sustainable solutions to lower our impact on the environment. We thank Transmanut for helping us to make greener journeys.”

Dominique Berthauld, CEO of Transmanut said “Six years ago, Transmanut decided to invest in the first biofuel trucks in the French market using Oleo100 fuel. 600,000 Kms later and with a positive return experience, we have the ambition to develop our biofuel fleet in the container sector and have acquired two new trucks this month. We are pleased to be deploying these trucks into service, helping ONE’s customers to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. Further biofuel trucks will be delivered by the end this year to reinforce our green fleet.”

The use of biofuel is just one of the many ways ONE is trying to meet its goal of achieving net zero by 2050, which includes scope 3 emissions from external suppliers. ONE looks forward to continued collaboration with their partners and customers to reduce the supply chain’s impact on the environment.

Launched on April 1st, 2018, Ocean Network Express (Europe) Ltd. is the regional headquarters and a subsidiary of Ocean Network Express (ONE), headquartered in Singapore. Ocean Network Express (ONE), headquartered in Singapore, is one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies. It operates a fleet of over 230 vessels with a capacity exceeding 1.8 million TEUs. Through its extensive global network, ONE provides container shipping services to over 120 countries. The company was established by integrating the container shipping businesses of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” LINE), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK).

Forto and Hapag-Lloyd deliver biofuel alternative

UK Railfreight Service Launch by Freightliner

Posted on 27 January, 2023 by Keith McKinley

On January 17th a new Freightliner railfreight service made its first journey travelling from Southampton to Crewe, UK. For this journey, Ocean Network Express (ONE) purchased GD+ fuel to cover 100% of the fuel volume required. The train then continued its journey to Freightliner Coatbridge terminal, Scotland, using an electric locomotive, making this one of the greenest rail freight routes in UK Rail. This innovative service will be the first of its kind in the UK and demonstrates an ambitious environmental commitment by Freightliner, ONE and their customers.

GD+ is a type of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and can be used as a diesel replacement. This drop-in fuel is made entirely from waste and residue oils and is defined as renewable, environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and sustainable. Its supply chain is traceable and independently verified, a prerequisite for both organisations. GD+ generates significantly lower CO₂e emissions compared to diesel. Apart from the significant CO₂e savings, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and methane (CH4) are also reduced.

The train’s CO2e emission savings during its 700 KM journey are approximately 80%1, with 70% of emissions avoided utilising electricity and 92%2 reduced by running on GD+ when compared to diesel. With only 38%3 of the UK’s rail network electrified, adopting alternative fuels could be a quick and effective transition to drastically reduce the country’s emissions.

“This is an exciting and significant step forward in delivering impactful environmental benefits for the UK rail freight industry, and we are delighted to be partnering with ONE to make this happen,” said Andrew Daly, Chief Commercial Officer for Freightliner. “We are leading the UK rail freight industry when it comes to delivering decarbonisation benefits, and this initiative is further evidence of our commitment to a greener future for UK rail freight through committed customer partnerships. We will continue to invest and lead the way in this critical area of decarbonisation.”

Simon Parsons, Director of the Ocean Network Express UK Agency, comments:
“As a global carrier, we aim to be the link between customer and supplier to accelerate the transition towards a fully green supply chain. Our long-term relationship with Freightliner has enabled us to align our green ambitions and act swiftly to support the logistical needs of our customers between Scotland and Southampton. We are very hopeful to further expand our green network throughout the UK moving forward.”

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