With the UK buffeted by a succession of storms, it has been an ill wind that has blown London Gateway some good over the festive period with DP World’s £1.5bn investment receiving ad-hoc calls from Maersk Line’s Asia-Europe service, plus an MSC ship and a feeder vessel. High winds caused havoc at Hutchison-operated Felixstowe port over the Christmas and New Year period, with some ships being diverted to the more sheltered Thames-sited London Gateway.

Maersk Line, which already has a contract with London Gateway through its membership of the weekly South Africa-Europe SAECS service, diverted its 66,526gt/2000 built Nedlloyd Drake, which operates on the carrier’s AE7 loop. The vessel arrived at London Gateway in the early hours of 23rd December and left on Christmas Eve after having discharged 97 containers for transhipment to UK east coast feeder ports. This prompted Dutch feeder operator BG Freight Line to call on 27th December with its 6,370gt/2002 built feeder vessel Cetus J.

MSC then decided to send its South Africa-serving 89,954gt/2005 built MSC Rita to London Gateway, which was able to move onto a berth on 5th January after the departure of the SAECS vessel 58,289gt/2005 built MOL Caledon. Maersk then diverted the much larger 93,511gt/2006 built Maersk Seville to London Gateway. The 97,933gt/2005 built Gudrun Maersk then called at London Gateway to become the largest ship to do so thus far. Again the weather was to blame with the Thames facility being able to accept the ship thanks to the dredging project undertaken for the port. The Gudrun Maersk had come from the Far East and departed for Tangiers, Morocco.