Pan-European ferry operator P&O Ferries has reported a 16 percent uplift in freight units on its service between Zeebrugge and Teesport during the third quarter of the year compared with 2015.

Between July and September, P&O Ferries’ two ships on the route, the Bore Song and the Mistral, carried 22,499 units of freight, representing an increase of more than 16 per cent on the 19,349 units carried in the corresponding period last year.

The two 25,000 ton vessels sail six times a week each between Zeebrugge and Teesport.

“Our freight volumes between Zeebrugge and Teesport have risen encouragingly in the last twelve months as continental customers have become more aware of just how convenient a gateway this north-eastern port is for cities in the north-west such as Manchester and Liverpool,” Nick Pank, P&O Ferries’ Head of Sales Development on the North Sea, said.

The increase in volumes comes on the back of the company’s decision to double freight capacity at Zeebrugge in order to meet increased structural demand from exporters to Britain.

The expansion, which includes a fourth berth, is expected to provide the ferry company with the capacity to handle 700,000 units of freight every year at the Belgian terminal compared with the current figure of 370,000.