Global container shipping consortium THE Alliance has announced that all of its mainline UK calls will be handled by DP World, the Dubai-based global ports and logistics services company.

The consortium of container shipping lines – which comprises Hapag Lloyd, K-Line, MOL, NYK Line and Yang Ming – will bring vessels on its FE1, FE2 and FE4 services into DP World Southampton and those on FE3 and FE5 into DP World London Gateway, all of which link Asia and Europe.

Vessels deployed on the consortium’s transatlantic AL3, AL4 and AL5 services, will call at DP World Southampton while those on AL1 and AL2 will call into DP World London Gateway.

The FE3 and FE5 will be the first regular Asia-Europe services to call at DP World London Gateway. This means the port now offers the widest choice to shippers on North-South and East-West trade lanes.

The port is also integrated with DP World London Gateway Logistics Park, which provides over 10 million square feet of supply chain and distribution space for retailers and logistics firms, such as Lidl and UPS, who are already on site. The multimodal port and Logistics Park combination offers customers a unique opportunity to optimize efficiency and flexibility within their global supply chains.

New distribution facilities at the Logistics Park are available for immediate occupancy and planning consent for new development, including build-to-suit, is pre-approved under the Logistics Park’s Local Development Order. This ensures planning consent can be granted within 28 days – the fastest possible in the UK.

Confirmation from THE Alliance that new Asia-Europe and transatlantic services are to begin calling at DP World London Gateway has triggered a separate announcement by DP World that it will formally open its third berth for full operations at the end of March.

Berth 3 provides additional capacity for shipping lines and cargo owners, such as those in the retail, engineering, and automotive sectors, and will ensure DP World continues to provide a world-class service to its global supply chain customers.

DP World Southampton container terminal will now be the only port to handle vessels operated by THE Alliance, Ocean Alliance, and 2M alliance – the three major container shipping line consortia.

THE Alliance is expected to deploy 21,000 TEU vessels on its services when MOL’s new builds come into service this year which will see DP World in the UK handle the largest ships in the world.