GOOD START TO THE YEAR FOR THE PORTS OF HULL & GOOLE
The half-year results of Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Ports of Hull & Goole have shown a good start to 2005, with strong growth in container traffic, agribulk exports and coal imports. The ports have seen a number of important new business wins and investment in new facilities, as well as the appointment in June of Matthew Kennerley, who succeeded Doug Morrison as Port Director.
Trade at ABP Goole received a significant boost in January, following the start of a daily container service from the port. Operated by Seawheel, the service now runs between Rotterdam and Duisberg and Goole, where the containers are handled by local stevedores, RMS Europe. The service returned to Goole after a two-year absence, in which Seawheel moved its operations to Killingholme. As part of a term agreement with RMS Europe, ABP invested £1.3 million in a surfacing programme, creating 9,000 sq m of extra storage space for the Seawheel container service.
In Goole, ABP is investing £0.9 million in the development of additional specialist bulk storage for Caldaire Terminal Ltd and Renewable Fuels Ltd, which will greatly expand the port’s capacity to handle biomass and general dry-bulk traffic. ABP is also investing a total of around £2.8 million in new storage facilities for customer NW Trading Ltd, after signing two new 10-year agreements with the dry-bulks specialists. Work on a new 5,000 sq m shed will be completed in December of this year at the Port of Hull, and a further 6,000 sq m facility is being provided next year at the Port of Goole.
ABP also invested £1.6 million in new cranage at the Port of Goole, following the signing of a 10-year extension to an existing agreement with PAL Line (UK), operators of one of the port’s major liner services. ABP invested in a new 100-tonne Liebherr LHM 320 mobile harbour crane, which was installed at the port’s Aldam Terminal, to accommodate increased volumes of traffic on PAL Line’s regular sailings between the UK and Sweden.
ABP’s Humber Estuary Services (HES) is to undertake a £1.9 million investment project to upgrade its fleet of pilot launches. ABP has placed an order with ship- builders VT Halmatic for three new ‘Nelson 48/50’-class pilot launches. Delivery of the vessels will be phased over three stages, with the first launch expected to come into service in December of this year and the last in summer of 2006. This significant investment will enable ABP to maintain the safety and efficiency of its pilotage operations on the Humber, the UK’s busiest commercial waterway, for which ABP is the Competent Harbour Authority.
ABP still awaits the Government’s final approval for Quay 2005, the proposed riverside container terminal at the Port of Hull. In January of this year, the Government announced that it was ‘minded’ to grant permission for the £30 million - £35 million riverside facility. The minded decision is subject to the Government considering any further representations received concerning the proposed change in the nature-conservation status of the Humber Estuary, which have arisen since the close of the public inquiry on 17 July 2003.
ABP wants to build Quay 2005 because of the restrictions placed on the existing terminal by the size of the lock and the requirement for additional quayside development areas. The terminal will improve marine access for lo-lo customers and also improve vessel-turnaround times. In recent years, there has been major growth in the short-sea and Continental feedering services calling at Hull, and it is widely acknowledged that this growth will continue in years to come.
Commenting on the ports’ first-half performance, Port Director Matthew Kennerley said:
“It’s been a very encouraging start to the year for the Ports of Hull & Goole, with growth in a number of key trades. We have also made a number of investments in new facilities at the ports, which will significantly boost throughput once they become operational.
“We also welcomed the Government’s announcement that it was minded to grant ABP permission to build Quay 2005. If we receive full approval, Quay 2005 will play an essential part in shaping the future of the Port of Hull and will also enable us to accommodate expansion for our other customers within the enclosed dock.”
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