Sea Freight and Ferry company, P&O Ferries has announced that they have carried more freight between Zeebrugge and Tilbury over the course of 2017 than they have in any other year over the course of their decade long history of the working on this shipping route.

The integrated ferry and logistics company has revealed that they have carried 185,908 freight units between January and December, which is an increase of 4.3% on the year before and surpassing the previous best 12 months’ figure that has been set by the business. The amazing vales that have been achieved by the company show the increasing popularity of the route from the continent to Tilbury. P&O has said that this route could be a rival to the more common Calais to Dover route in terms of being a gateway to Britain in the next ten years.

It is thought that this route is favorited by freight customers because they can load and unload their ships in just four hours, allowing them to get through the port gates and on the road quicker than from any other location. The Tilbury port is the closest port to London and it is thought that 18 million people live within 75 miles of the port. This location is ideal for companies, as the majority of goods carried are consumables like wine, spirits, dairy, water and a wide range of other supermarket products.  The drop off and collect units at the port of Tilbury is also exceptionally good, as it takes a trailer 20 minutes and a lift unit 30 minutes to carry out this action.

P&O Ferries operate two fairies on the route, the 20,000-ton sister ships, Norstream and Norsky, who sail 24 times each week in total, with each crossing taking 8 hours. Zeebrugge is P&O’s main continental hub and overseas exports to Britain reap a range of benefits from the company’s dedicated freight routes from Zeebrugge on to Teesport and Hull in addition to the route to Tilbury. The Zeebrugge port also offers enhanced rail facilities in order to handle an increasing proportion of the cargo originating in Central and Eastern Europe. The benefits of the port are also applicable to exporters from Britain, who are able to benefit from the onward connections to northern Spain and Gothenburg with a range of services that are operated by lines in partnership with P&O Ferries.