CILT(UK) Network Partner, DP World, has welcomed its first ship arrival under the Gemini Cooperation agreement at its Southampton port. 

The MV Leonidio docked at the Southampton logistics hub on 3 February as part of its first rotation on the Gemini Transatlantic AL1/AT3 service.

It will call at the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven in Northern Europe before crossing the Atlantic to dock at New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Saint John in the US and Canada.

The Gemini Cooperation was originally announced in January 2024 by shipping giants Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to strengthen the reliability of their East-West shipping networks.

It reduced the number of ports calls in the mainliner services and introduced a hub and spoke network design with the goal of improving global supply chain efficiency.

As part of their partnership with DP World, all of Gemini’s Middle East-Europe and Asia-Europe services will now be handled at London Gateway, alongside their Trans-Atlantic services at Southampton.

The first Gemini ship on the Asia-Europe service will call at London Gateway in the coming weeks.

Ernst Schulze, Chief Executive Officer for Ports & Terminals at DP World in the UK, said: “Alongside improving the reliability and efficiency of the UK economy’s international trade links, our partnership with the Gemini Cooperation is a testament to our steadfast programme of investment to make both Southampton and London Gateway the most modern and advanced logistics hubs in Europe.”

Over the next three months, DP world is hosting weekly ‘Insight Days’ at London Gateway for new customers to learn more about the wide range of services at the logistics hub.

The hub boasts four deep-sea berths, a rail terminal and the UK’s largest port-adjacent logistics park.

CILT(UK)’s Environmental and Sustainability Forum has also partnered with DP World hosting an 'Insight Day' for both non-members and members on 13 March.

You can register for this event by clicking here: CILT(UK) DP World London Gateway Customer Insight Day

Gary Jeffreys, Managing Director – Maersk UK & Ireland, said: “It’s exciting to see our Gemini Ocean network going live now after more than a year of thorough planning and preparation.

“It’s an absolute innovative network design in our ocean industry with the overall goal of delivering more robust and resilient ocean services to our customers.

“Logistics today must assert itself in a new environment with multiple disruptions and other challenges like geopolitical tensions or climate change.

“Hence, we need to apply new solutions to get schedule reliability back to the formerly known levels that our customers deserve.

“Besides using our own hub ports, we are excited to partner with terminal operators like DP World who can help us deliver the reliability.”  

Cameron Bowie, Managing Director – Hapag-Lloyd UK & Ireland, said: “It is great to see the first Hapag-Lloyd vessel ‘MV Leonidio’ arrive in Southampton.

“The AL1/AT3 service is one of 57 services in the Gemini network and highlights our commitment to optimizing global shipping routes.

“Our goal is ambitious yet clear: to achieve industry-leading reliability of over 90% by summer 2025. The success of Gemini depends on more than ships and schedules.

“It's also about good and strong collaborations we have with our ports and terminals.”