Maritime Transport Ltd. (Maritime) has secured a two-year contract with global container operator and long-standing customer, A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk), to provide committed space for the movement of containers by rail across the UK.
Under the terms of the new contract, Maersk will utilise four of Maritime’s intermodal services daily, including two from the Port of Felixstowe to Maritime’s Wakefield and East Midlands Gateway terminals, and two from DP World London Gateway to Wakefield and Maritime’s terminal at Trafford Park.
The contract, which commenced on 1st March 2021, will see the movement by rail of at least 25,000 Maersk containers annually.
John Bailey, Managing Director – Intermodal and Terminals, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to further cement our relationship with Maersk, who have been a valued partner of ours for several years. We continue to invest and commit to our strategic and long-term plan of developing a truly flexible and competitive intermodal product to our customers; the additional rail business with Maersk is a testament to this. Our renewed arrangements further provide operational reliability and sustainability that can really benefit Maersk’s strategic progression, and we look forward to working closely with them as our coverage and network increases.’
The new contract is an extension of the current cooperation under which Maritime performs regular container movements for Maersk by road and rail. Regular cooperation between Maritime and Maersk began in January 2010.
‘A.P. Moller – Maersk has increased its cooperation with Maritime significantly over the years who currently operate at all of the UK ports and inland terminals we use for our intermodal services,’ said Steve New, Execution Manager at Maersk. ‘Maersk is upholding its status as a global provider of integrated end-to-end container logistics services by working with local partners who can help us deliver tailored solutions for our changing customers’ needs in a sustainable way; Maritime’s extensive rail network and haulage reliability is a perfect match to achieve that goal.’
Handling greater volumes by rail is major step forward in Maritime’s and Maersk’s joint commitment to sustainable transport.