A NEW seven-day direct service to Casablanca from the Port of Felixstowe is to be launched by John Good Shipping, as UK agent for OPDR Hamburg.

OPDR vessels will now sail directly between Felixstowe and the north African port, creating a possible door-to-door transit time of just 11 days.

The new schedule, to be operated by five sister vessels from the OPDR fleet, will comprise a Felixstowe departure on a Saturday, arriving in Casablanca the following Saturday. This would also be the basis for the return service creating a seven-day transit for both exports and imports.

Steve Whitfield, OPDR line manager at John Good Shipping, said the new schedule would offer customers a fast, efficient and cost-effective route into north Africa for a variety of goods including construction materials, spirits, chemicals, used electrical goods and animal feed.

“This new service makes the OPDR service unique as we are not aware of any other line calling either directly or even on a weekly basis, or indeed offering such a quick transit time,” he said.

“The usual transit time is around 10 to 16 days depending on which carrier you choose, and transhipment would be either via Rotterdam, Lisbon or a combination of both or other ports.

“This new direct service means customers can load containers at their premises right up until the day before departure, and with a potential delivery to the customer the following Monday we are creating a possible door- to-door transit time of 11 days. This is as fast, and in some cases quicker, than other carriers’ port- to-port transit times.”

John Good Shipping which is based in Hull but operates warehousing, trucking and port agency services in Felixstowe, will oversee the sales and marketing of the new service in the UK and provide vessel agency and operational support.