The ZIM Rotterdam has called at DP World London Gateway port few days ago and will undergo required maintenance. The 10,000teu ship will be the largest ever cargo vessel to enter the Thames and is expected alongside at 1800hrs Friday evening.
ZIM Rotterdam plies the Asia - North Europe trade route on ZIM's Asia - Europe Express Service (AEX). As a result of an unplanned delay, London Gateway port agreed to accommodate the vessel at short notice.
Following the discharge of cargo operations and required maintenance, the ZIM Rotterdam will continue according to her original rotation to other ports in Europe and onward to Asia via the Suez Canal.
Rai Ben Ari, ZIM VP Shipping said: "While the call to DP World’s London Gateway was not planned in advance, this is certainly a happy coincidence. We are proud to call at the state-of-the-art terminal and we look forward to future cooperation with DP World London Gateway.”
A spokesman for London Gateway said: “When we got the call from ZIM on Wednesday afternoon, we realised that a solution was needed quickly and so we just got on with the job straight away. Everyone knows we are not opening London Gateway until November and that has not changed, but we weren’t going to let ZIM down when they needed support. So, we will welcome ZIM to London Gateway to allow the ship to undertake essential work that is needed before it can continue on just as soon as possible.”
ZIM customers are advised they need to contact their usual agents with customer enquiries. Haulage will be dealt with through the CNS system.
