DFDS Increases Scheduled Frequencies to the UK from Cuxhaven

Since 1 February, the Danish shipping company and member of the Cuxhaven Port Association (HWG) DFDS has expanded its scheduled freight liner traffic between Cuxhaven and Immingham by one additional departure, which means there are now six weekly vessel departures. Thanks to unaccompanied trailer transits, the route through Cuxhaven has shown itself to be robust despite the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit. Thus, handling at the Cuxport terminal for shipments to the UK can be carried out without interruption.

With the additional Wednesday departure, the route originating at the Lower Saxony deep-sea port of Cuxhaven will be served from Monday to Saturday. Two Ro/Ro vessels, Selandia Seaways and Britannia Seaways will be deployed. Next to the additional departure, the reworked schedule is now tailored to customers‘ needs. The transit times between Cuxhaven and Immingham have been reduced to 19 hours; plus, all departures now occur in the evenings. In particular, truck-trailer customers can now deliver their trailer or container units at HWG member Cuxport’s terminal in the evening and these units can be expedited on their onward journey without escort. Logistics companies thus enjoy more scheduling security and less risk of delay for their drivers and their cargo on account of any Brexit-related customs checks. Any delays at terminals, and border crossings, can also be avoided in this way.

“With the additional departure and improved departure times in the evenings, we are offering our customers an attractive and reliable alternative for their shipments to and from Great Britain,” said Marcus Braue, Cuxhaven site manager for DFDS Germany. He added: “The market is indicating a general trend away from accompanied and towards unaccompanied trailer transits. For this reason, we have adjusted the departure times to be more in line with our customers’ preferences.”

“So far, COVID-19 and the new customs rules have not impacted processing in Cuxhaven for onward journeys to Great Britain. This shows that our thorough preparation in conjunction with all stakeholders is paying off, we are not experiencing significant issues in processing exports and imports,” noted Hans-Peter Zint, chairman of the Cuxhaven Port Association and managing director of Cuxport GmbH.