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Liverpool strengthens North Atlantic container trade lead

For Immediate Release - 31 January, 2006

The Port of Liverpool's position as the UK's major gateway for container trade with North America will receive a further boost with the launch of a new weekly service to Canada.

The world's second largest container shipping line, Mediterranean Shipping Company, will introduce a Monday sailing from the Seaforth Container Terminal to the Racine Terminal in Montreal in co-operation with global container leader, Maersk Line. Three ships of 1,500 teu operating capacity will maintain a port rotation of Liverpool, Montreal, Antwerp, Liverpool from the first sailing on 27th February.

The launch of the service dubbed the "Montreal Express Service One" by MSC and the TA5 Service by Maersk, will consolidate Liverpool's leading position in UK container trades with both Canada and the USA.

Frank Robotham, Director of Marketing for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company - part of Peel Ports Group - said: "We anticipate that a substantial volume of the new trade attracted to the MSC-Maersk service will be directed into the US Mid-West by these two prestigious shipping lines."

For MSC, the new Canadian service will be the second shipping link launched out of Liverpool in the last five years. "MSC already operate the highly successful deepsea feeder service linking Liverpool into its global network through its Le Havre and Antwerp hub ports," said Mr Robotham.

Mersey Docks is currently seeking a Harbour Revision Order to enable the development of an £80 million river container terminal on the Mersey. The scheme is being undertaken in anticipation of the introduction of post Panamax container ships on the North Atlantic and further expansion of Liverpool's total container trade which has grown year on year and is now at record levels of more than 600,000 teus a year.

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