30.09.26 | Ports
Weekly Greenock – Rotterdam service opens new route for Scottish exportersReinstating the BG Freight Line call offers a regular connection to global markets and could reduce the need to move export containers by road to other UK ports.
Scottish exporters now have a new weekly container connection to Rotterdam following the reinstatement of BG Freight Line’s call at the Port of Greenock.
The service resumed on 19 September, offering a regular route into Rotterdam’s global shipping network. Peel Ports Group says it could be particularly valuable to independent whisky distillers and bottlers seeking greater certainty over export shipments.
Greenock’s bonded warehousing could offer an additional benefit to eligible whisky businesses, allowing bottled stock to be held with UK excise duty suspended until it is ready for its destination market. Peel Ports says this is subject to HMRC approval and the necessary operating and compliance arrangements.
Jamie Strain, Peel Ports Group’s new Clydeport Port Director, said: “This service gives exporters something very simple but critical, namely certainty. There will be a vessel at Greenock every week to take their goods, in full or part containers, to Rotterdam, from where they can connect with markets around the world.”
Peel Ports says the service could also reduce the need to transport export containers to ports elsewhere in the UK, cutting road miles and reducing additional handling.
The weekly calls will alternate between the 1,002 TEU vessels MV BG Emerald and MV BG Jade. Greenock handles around 100,000 TEU a year and has received £25 million in investment for two new ship-to-shore cranes.
Image credit: Peel Ports Group.
