British International Freight Association (BIFA) chooses Port of Liverpool to host Regional Members Meeting​

On the 19th March, the Port of Liverpool played host to the BIFA regional members meeting. David Huck, Chief Operating Officer for Peel Ports Group, opened the meeting by welcoming BIFA members and gave a brief outline of Peel Ports Group and their operations across the UK. Andrew Melton, BIFA regional representative, then updated attendees on the issues currently crossing the BIFA secretariats' collective desks, before Bruce Hailey, Solicitor with Salvus Law, updated members on current issues with customs representation and customs valuations. The day also included a presentation by PC Matt Bate, National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service, about vehicle export smuggling.​

Highlighting the Port of Liverpool's value proposition for supply chains, Luis Mendez, Customer Service Manager, and Jerome Wildsmith, BCO & Freight Forwarder Sales Manager, delivered a presentation showcasing better cargo accessibility, lower transportation costs, reduced carbon emissions, and lower congestion.

The delegates were also treated to a port tour, allowing them to witness the facilities firsthand.

“We were delighted to host the BIFA regional members meeting. It is a great vote of confidence in the Port of Liverpool, and it was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the Port to so many businesses and cargo interests.” – David Huck​, COO, Peel Ports Group

Andrew Melton (BIFA Regional Representative – Midlands and the North) closed the event thanking Peel Ports Group and the Port of Liverpool for their hospitality and extended particular thanks to Ariola Myftari (Peel Ports Group) for her excellent organisation and liaison with Shelby Merchant (BIFA events team), without whom the event would not have been as successful.​

Indian Subcontinent service connect into Liverpool​

The Red Sea crisis has once again shone a spotlight on the importance of supply chain stability and resilience. As a direct response to the ongoing crisis, Shipping Lines are not only diverting Suez transits via the Cape of Good Hope, but are also looking at their network deployment strategies to better support cargo interests, in terms of both port coverage and transit time. One such example is Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) who now offer connection from Indian Subcontinent services to the newly designed West Coast UK service, via Sines. This mainliner to mainliner transhipment product connects the major Indian ports, Colombo and Chittagong into Liverpool, with transit times comparable to direct services into UK southern ports (e.g. Chittagong to Liverpool in 37 days vs Felixstowe at 36 days). By bringing cargo closer to its end destination, cargo owners can achieve better supply chain certainty and reliability, avoiding highly congested road and rail networks and benefiting from lower distribution costs and lower emissions, making Liverpool the port of choice for cargo destined for northern UK, Scotland and Ireland. 

The Port Direct Community is growing​

Our Port Direct community recognises the need for ocean transportation services to include a northern UK port option. Today a historic bias towards southern ports has created an artificial centre of gravity for the supply chain, leading to numerous and unnecessary supply chain inefficiencies, including insufficient rail capacity, congested roads, cargo delays, ineffective landside logistics and extra pollution caused by long unnecessary road journeys. Collectively our Port Direct community is calling on the Shipping Lines to consider a north-south 2 port UK strategy.​

Since inception we have seen a steady growth of our Port Direct community calling for direct services into the Port of Liverpool. We are happy to share that our community has grown, such that we now have a cargo interest commitment exceeding 300,000 TEU and we continue to actively engage with the Shipping Lines, lobbying for the much needed ocean services in the north.