debut for new Dartford ferry
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• Many of Britain's major hauliers are preparing to use the new ferry service between Dartford in Kent and Zeebrugge, which is due to begin operating on September 16.
Mike Thomas, marketing manager of the new £20 million Dartford International Ferry Terminal (DIFT), says that many haulage companies have indicated that they will use the new ferry service and are already talking about building accommodation at the terminal for their drivers.
On September 16 the Kent Line will begin sailing a 100trailer capacity ship between Dartford and Zeebrugge, once a day from Tuesday to Saturday. Thomas expects that a second ship will be added to the service within a few months of the start of the service.
The hard standing area at the purr has been doubled in size to nine hectares (22 acres), to take up to 400 trailers.
An official opening ceremony for the ferry terminal, which is situated to the south of the Thames within a few hundred metres of the Dartford Tunnel, is scheduled for October 25.
Thomas says that two other ferry companies are discussing the operation of ships from DIFT, and he hopes to make an announcement in the next few months.
"We have seen a considerable demand from the freight and transport industry," says Thomas. "And there has also been a huge demand from outside the UK, from haulage companies who appreciate the DIFT's superb links with the M25."
One of the first operators to use DIFT will be Bolsted Services, a German company operating 15 vehicles on highspeed delivery services to North Germany. The company is so sure about DIFT's prospects that it has re-located its UK headquarters there.