A new short-sea container service between Kent and Ghent in Belgium has been launched.

The new service will operate out of London Thamesport on Grain.

Operated by I-Motion Shipping, an associate of Interface Terminal Ghent (ITG), it will provide three sailings per week between the two ports.

Clemence Cheng, executive director of Hutchison Ports London Thamesport, said: “This new service represents the latest stage of development of London Thamesport as a major short-sea gateway for containerised traffic in the south of England.

"We are seeing increasing demand for short-sea container services and these additional sailings complement the existing services we have at the port. They will benefit from London Thamesport’s strategic location in the heart of the south east and its connections through to the rest of the country.”

Johan ‎De Raeve, MD of I-Motion Shipping, said: “We are providing a new service for our intermodal customers to allow them to access major markets and London Thamesport offers an ideal route to the largest economic region in the UK.

I-Motion has chartered two vessels, the 509 TEU BF Cartagena and the 340 TEU Marus, to provide fixed day weekly calls at London Thamesport on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.