Feature, Freight News, Sea


Finnlines and Peel have big plans for Sheerness

[ June 11, 2025   //   ]

Finnlines has added a call at Gdynia, Poland to its weeklyservice that links the port of Sheerness with Finland, Belgium and Spain and is planning further upgrades following the opening of a new £30 million pontoon berth at the Kent port.

At a ceremony in Sheerness on 10 June to mark the introduction of the new service – which was launched last autumn – and the port’s new £30m ro ro berth – delegates learned that there are plans to add a second weekly rotation and, possibly a third. New origins and destinations could also be included.

Sheerness owner Peel Ports told the gathering that it also has plans to revive the port’s rail link.

Finnlines, part of the Grimaldi Group, is operating a fleet of three modern, hybrid Finneco vessels on the route with capacity of up to 5,800 lane metres and space for ro ro trailers, maafi cargoes, containers and project freight. Connections are available on the worldwide Grimaldi network via Antwerp.

Peel Group owns the ports of Sheerness and nearby Chatham, handling some 15 million tonnes of cargo a year and 300,000 trade vehicles.

Port director, Richard Goffin, said: “This major new addition to our infrastructure will bring huge benefits to the port and the wider supply chain, as well as future-proof our operations here for many years to come. The new berth and its facilities will further improve operational efficiency and enhance flexibility for our customers.

“It’s also been great to welcome Finnlines’ new freight service to London Medway yesterday, and it’s a strong example of the kind of high-quality, long-term partnerships this investment was designed to support.”

The new berth and pontoon will cater for ro ro vessels arriving carrying commodities such as automotives, paper reels and timber, construction machinery and building materials, project cargo, agribulks, and steel.

It will also support the continued growth of the port operator’s customers such as Volkswagen and CEVA, who use London Medway as the primary location for their southern UK operations.

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