ABP’S EAST ANGLIAN PORTS REPORT STEADY START TO THE YEAR
Associated British Ports’ (ABP) East Anglian Ports of Ipswich, King’s Lynn and Lowestoft have reported a steady start to the year, showing an increase in throughput of unitised traffic and fruit and vegetables. There have been a number of new developments during this period, together with further investment in facilities at these short-sea ports.
IPSWICH
Ipswich’s roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) trade has continued to see strong growth during the first six months of 2004. In support of the ongoing, long-term growth of this traffic, ABP has commenced work on constructing an additional ro-ro berth at the port’s West Bank Terminal. The £6.1 million project will see the construction of a new 150-m long quay wall, a hydraulically operated linkspan, a tug berth and two protective-mooring dolphins.With the completion of additional work, including dredging and the creation of new surfacing, it is expected that the new facilities will be operational by the end of January 2005. ABP committed itself to this project after reaching a 20-year agreement with cargo-ferry operators Ferryways N.V.
KING’S LYNN
King’s Lynn has continued to work in partnership with its customers, and as a result, has seen forest-products imports of customer Travis Perkins increase by over 20 per cent during the first six months of the year. In August, King’s Lynn and Banks Cargill Agriculture (BCA) announced that they had reached a commercial agreement whereby BCA’s riverside silo facility has been closed, with all of its future grain export traffic being transferred to ABP King’s Lynn’s facilities.
LOWESTOFT
Waveney MP Bob Blizzard officially opened ABP’s Lowestoft Haven Marina in May in a ceremony held at the new marina.Located on Lake Lothing, the £1 million, 140-berth marina has already met with critical acclaim and has been awarded four gold anchors by The Yacht Harbour Association – the organisation’s internationally recognised standard of quality for marinas. The marina has also proved to be popular with the sailing community with many of its berths already permanently occupied.
Working in conjunction with port customers SLP Engineering, Lowestoft continued to meet the needs of the renewable-energies sector through its involvement in the Scroby Sands wind-turbine project. Over a two-month period, the project saw 30 wind turbines constructed and shipped from the port’s outer harbour to locations in the North Sea. Following the success of the project, it is anticipated that similar works will be undertaken at the port in 2005.
John Copping, ABP’s Short-Sea Port Director, commented:
“ABP’s East Anglian ports have achieved a satisfactory start to the year. We have had some very exciting developments, such as the opening of Lowestoft Haven Marina and construction work starting on Ipswich’s new ro-ro berth. ABP is committed to its customers and their needs, and I am confident that, through investing in new facilities, we can continue to grow our business over the coming months and years.”
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