THE operators of Tees Port have pulled off a coup ahead of next month's expansion of the European Union by snatching a shipping contract with the Baltic from a rival.

PD Teesport will open up previously untapped trade with Eastern Europe after it secured a deal with shipping company Kursiu Linija.

The Lithuanian operator had used Immingham Port, on Humberside, but was persuaded to switch to the Tees by management at Teesport, who have been working hard to promote the region's shipping assets.

The installation of a container dock last year was instrumental in securing the contract.

The deal heralds the fifth shipping line operating regular container routes in and out of the growing port.

The news comes as one of Teesport's four existing operators revealed it is to add a twice-weekly service to Poland for North-East importers and exporters.

Next month, ten countries will join the EU, including the Baltic states of Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, a move expected to significantly increase trade with the UK.

Teesport appears ideally suited to capture a share of the market, especially since the opening of its container terminal in October.

David Robinson, PD Teesport's managing director, said: "The EU expansion will have a major impact on UK imports and exports, and the move by Kursiu Linija comes at a time when links to the Baltic region are becoming increasingly important.

"PD Teesport already has existing regular Baltic services into Helsinki and St Petersburg, but is aiming to expand links to this important region.

"Teesport, geographically, is the logical link into the UK from north-east Europe and the Baltic.

"Previously, the Kursiu Linija service called at Immingham, but has moved to Teesport since the expansion of our container handling capability and our achievement of market-leading levels of productivity."

Starting this month, Kursiu Linija will sail twice a week from Teesport to Klaipeda, in Lithuania, Riga, in Latvia, Kaliningrad, in Russia, Gdansk, in Poland, Rotterdam, Ostend and Ipswich.

The line is also launching three larger ships to ply the Baltic routes -the MV Betsy S and the MV Zenit, both capable of carrying 366 20ft containers, and the MV Maryam, with a 350-container capacity.

Arijus Romonas, Kursiu Linija's managing director, said: "The high standard of service received at PD Teesport was very impressive and we were delighted with the smooth operation and quick turnaround when the Maryam first visited the port's container terminal in March."

Meanwhile, Finnish-owned Container Ships, which has operated out of Teesport for 30 years, has announced that its twice-weekly route to Helsinki and St Petersburg will be extended to Gdansk.

Initially, the port expects to be handling about an extra 50 containers a week from Poland, but expects this to rise to about 200 within two years.

Last year, PD Teesport reported record cargo handling results, with 54 million tonnes passing through the ports of Tees and Hartlepool, making the operation one of the top ten in Europe