UK-based operator P&O Ferries has recorded its highest ever freight volumes on the English Channel in 2015.
Freight transportation comprises two-thirds of P&O Ferries’ business. The ferry operator’s six ships transported 1,340,317 units of freight across the English Channel, an increase of 22% of freight transportation in the year.
About 367,000 units of freight were ferried across the English Channel between July and September accounting for a 30% increase in the same period last year.
P&O Ferries commercial director Janette Bell said: "The cross-Channel ferry business is a vital strategic link in the transport infrastructure of north-western Europe and these numbers illustrate that hundreds of thousands of firms rely on our services to import and export goods.
"We expect demand for cross-Channel transport to increase, driven by a rising population and the strength of the British economy. The vast majority of our freight customers are businesses transporting goods from continental Europe to Britain."
In September, it reportedly accounted for the maximum volume of freight transportation between Britain and France amounting to 129,500 units, up by 123,000 units achieved in July.
The augmentation in the volume of freight transportation was attributed to P&O Ferries’s incorporation of an additional vessel and additional sailings on the Dover to Calais route.
P&O Ferries chief executive said: "Demand for cross-Channel transport is only going to increase, driven by a rising population and a recovering economy.
"We have increased the number of sailings we make between Dover and Calais to 58 a day and brought a sixth ship back into service on the route in order to make sure that we are best placed to meet that demand."
The report came close on heels of high tourist transportation in August across the English Channel.
Image: A P&O ferry. Photo: courtesy of Port of Dover.
