New UK port boosts wine industry

A wine consignment carried by JF Hillebrand was on board the first scheduled vessel to dock at Europe’s newest port.

Containers being unloaded at the London Gateway opening earlier this month

Having opened for business earlier this month, the new deep sea “super port” DP World London Gateway not only represents a 30% increase to the UK’s port capacity, but will help wine shippers to minimise transit times.

Describing the port as “very important” for ensuring that the UK continues to receive direct shipments, especially with the larger ships in use today, JF Hillebrand managing director David Mawer linked this development to his own company’s efficiency drive.

“It means we can continue to provide our UK customers with the shortest, most reliable transit times,” he explained, highlighting the further advantage offered by JF Hillebrand’s “wine train” network.

Within 10 hours of 4,500 TEU  (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) capacity container ship MOL Caledon docking at London Gateway from South Africa, the first of two JF Hillebrand wine trains was transporting the wine to Daventry. A second train took the rest of the consignment to Bristol later the same day.

“It is quite something to think that we were delivering containers from this vessel within three weeks of them loading in South Africa, which gives South African shippers a tremendous competitive advantage in the market,” commented Mawer. “This was indeed an historical moment we were proud to be a part of.”