OOCL increases U.K., Ireland capacity

OOCL increases U.K., Ireland capacity    OOCL has phased in a faster and larger ship on its UK Express (UKX) service, and entered into an agreement with X-Press Container Lines to continue with a service connecting ports in Scotland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with Southampton.
   The Hong Kong-based carrier said the additional space and faster service speed on the weekly UKX would cater to increased demand, as well as help maintain schedule integrity, and enhance the connectivity with its deep-sea services in and out of Southampton.
   The UKX has a port rotation of Southampton (Saturday/Sunday), Hull (Tuesday/Wednesday), Grangemouth (Thursday), then back to Southampton (Saturday/Sunday).
   Meanwhile, after a two-month trial, OOCL and X-Press on April 16 decided to operate the Euphoria, which has a loadable capacity of 613 TEUs, on their joint weekly Southampton-Irish Sea Express (SIX) service.
   The SIX port rotation is Southampton (Tuesday/Wednesday), Dublin (Friday), Belfast (Saturday), Greenock (Sunday) and back to Southampton (Tuesday/Wednesday).
   OOCL said the service would 'ensure cargoes in and out of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Western Scotland are connected in a timely and orderly manner to OOCL's deep-sea network in Southampton.'
   Cargo to and from Cork on the Irish South Coast will continue to be fed to one of OOCL's hub ports in Continental Europe.