The new weekly service is to be operated by a dedicated ship with a capacity of 612 TEU in a fixed 7-day rotation, departing Zeebrugge on Thursdays and arriving in Dublin on Sundays. The new direct service will offer more flexibility and, for example, rapid end-to-end delivery, according to the company.
Dublin is now called at three times a week as a port of call for the existing Spanish and Portuguese services. Roger Megann, Managing Director of WEC Lines UK:
“WEC Lines has been active in the Irish market from Portugal for
over 30 years. In 2024, we introduced a dedicated connection to Bilbao, linking Dublin and enabling further connections to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. In 2025, this new service between Dublin and Zeebrugge will be introduced, and will also expand our reach to the surrounding European hinterland. This underscores WEC Lines' commitment to Ireland while we continue to expand our network, which will eventually extend to the Baltic region and beyond, while also developing our markets in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, and East Africa.”
Expansion of the Network
The Dutch shipping company
traditionally links the Northwest Continent with Southern Europe and aims to further expand its trade with connections. With the new “Northwest Continent – Ireland” (“NWC – IE”) service, customers could, for example, demand higher frequency, faster transit times, and reliability in both the dry and refrigerated goods markets, it says.
By calling at Le Havre, it also offers a sustainable alternative to truck transport. WEC Lines now calls at Le Havre twice a week, offers a fixed weekly call in Montoir, and aims to further expand its position in France with its
local office in Nantes.
At the same time, the Zeebrugge-Dublin connection offers a way to bypass the congested ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam for westbound transports. Philip Collet, General Manager of WEC Belgium:
“Zeebrugge offers easy port access, multimodal hinterland connections, a short transit time to Ireland, and above all, a valuable addition to our network to meet the needs of our customers.”
The dedicated service connecting the Northwest Continent with Ireland ensures real-time information, monitoring, and immediate operational actions throughout the transport process, which is particularly important when transporting temperature-sensitive, food-grade,
