In response to increased customer demand, DFDS is delighted to announce the launch of a new dedicated unaccompanied freight service between the UK and France.

The route will be served by a dedicated RO-RO vessel operating between Calais and the UK port of Sheerness and it is anticipated that the first sailing will be on 1st June 2021. The service will commence with one daily departure in each direction operating seven days per week with a crossing time of 5 hours.

This new service will significantly increase our unaccompanied freight capacity, which significantly broadens our current freight offering on the short sea straits. This initiative enables DFDS to further meet the demands for the efficient and reliable shipment of all freight types across the Channel.

The port of Sheerness, part of Peel Ports’ London Medway cluster, is located in northern Kent and operates 24 hours a day and is fully open/accessible seven days a week. This flexibility offers you and your customers congestion free access to drop and collect trailers, with no standage charges applied for the first 48 hours. The port benefits from close proximity to the M25 orbital ring (approx. 40km closer to the M25 than Dover), which is ideal for goods heading to the London area and the Midlands.

The port of Calais remains an attractive option for many of our unaccompanied freight customers with close proximity to rail links and the proposed sailing schedule is well suited to accommodate traffic from the rail freight services and onward intermodal routes throughout Europe.

Further details of the new service will follow in due course but if you have any questions in the meantime please do not hesitate to get in touch with your dedicated commercial contact who will be pleased to welcome your traffic onboard.

We look forward to your support and the mutual benefit that this new service will bring for our respective companies and your customers.

DFDS