P&O FERRIES TO LAUNCH FIFTH SHIP ON DOVER-CALAIS TO TAKE BACK MARKET LEADERSHIP ON PRINCIPAL UK-EU TRADE ROUTE

Pride of Burgundy - a 28,000 ton vessel with capacity to carry 120 lorries - will return to the vital arterial route in June, restoring the P&O Dover-Calais fleet to its pre-pandemic strength of five and expanding options for customers looking to transport goods between Britain and the EU. The ship will sail in freight-only mode.

In 2019, P&O Ferries’ share of ferry freight volumes on the Dover Strait was more than 50 per cent. P&O Ferries has since become part of DP World, the leading global provider of smart logistics, which reported robust financial results for 2020 with revenue growing by 11 percent to $8,553 million.

David Stretch, Chief Executive of P&O Ferries, said: “I am delighted to welcome a fifth ship back to our Dover-Calais fleet which will increase flexibility for customers and enable us to deliver a cost effective freight service on the English Channel as the economy returns to normal. Dover-Calais is a vital trade route both for the UK and EU economies as well as the thousands of businesses which rely on our services and we aim to return our market share back to where it belongs.”

“My message to our freight customers is simple: P&O will do everything it can to continue being the brand you can trust to deliver your goods from beginning to end, with the aim of solving the most complex logistical challenges using our integrated ferry and logistics assets.”

Mike Bhaskaran, DP World’s Chief Operating Officer - Logistics and Technology, added: “We are the leading provider of smart logistics, enabling the flow of global trade. I would like to thank everyone at P&O Ferries who has worked hard to keep trade flowing during the last 12 months and am excited by the opportunities which the arrival of a fifth ship on Dover-Calais brings, both in terms of our offer to customers and also returning P&O to growth.”

P&O is a leading pan-European ferry and logistics group at the heart of the Europe’s economy and a part of DP World, the leading provider of smart logistics solutions and enabler of the flow of trade across the globe. P&O Ferries is a major provider of freight transport and passenger travel services, sailing on eight major routes between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium. Its logistics business, P&O Ferrymasters, operates integrated road and rail links to countries across the continent including Italy, Poland, Germany, Spain and Romania, and facilitates the onward movement of goods to Europe from Asian countries via the Silk Road.