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Truck and Track June/July 2017 66
PORTS
ABP South Wales is offering bespoke
logistics solutions to suppliers of the
Hinkley Point C nuclear project because
of thecloseproximityof itsfiveports. The
Port of Barry is the closest commercial
port to Hinkley Point C, and ABP is
also able to offer services from Cardiff,
Newport, Port Talbot and Swansea.
The construction of Hinkley Point C over
the coming ten years will involve the supply of a significant volume
of construction materials and components. ABP South Wales is
offering a wide range of support services to provide suppliers with
bespoke solutions.
RalphWindeatt –Head of Commercial at ABP SouthWales, pictured
here, declares: “The location and poor road and rail links will make
the logistics of Hinkley Point C challenging. We are able to offer
time- and cost-effective solutions that are backed by our reputation
for high levels of safety and an unequalled quality of service.”
The logistics support that is being offered by ABP South Wales
includes: significant experience in handling heavy lift and project
cargoes, multimodal connectivity, deep sea access, the construction
of bespoke warehousing on the Port, and the facilitation of the
transport of cargo from deep-sea, ocean-going vessels to smaller
ships and barges capable of accessing and unloading at the Hinkley
Point C jetty / Combwich wharf.
A brochure detailing how ABP can support the Hinkley
Point C supply chain can be viewed and downloaded from
Supporting the Hinkley Point C supply chain
ABP Barry Port ©Dave Powell Ltd
RalphWindeatt of
Associated British Ports
(ABP)
Associated British Ports (ABP) has announced an investment of
£50million tomore than double the capacity of its two Humber
container terminals, at Hull and Immingham, in response to
continued growth in demand.
The UK’s largest port operator – owning and operating 21 ports in
England, Scotland andWales – has committed nearly £30million to
upgrading Hull container terminal, including the purchase of four
new Liebherr ship-to-shore cranes, two of which were delivered in
2016, with two more scheduled for delivery in 2018. Immingham
container terminal, which also took delivery of a newLiebherr crane
in 2016, will be further extended with major investment in new
equipment and technology.
Across the two Ports, capacity will be more than doubled, to
allow them to handle around 550,000 units. The investment has
coincidedwith a renewed focus on customer service, with improved
quayside handling rates and reduced waiting times for hauliers.
ABP Humber’s investment case is based on figures showing that,
across the Humber container terminals, there has been a 41%
growth in volumes since 2013. The business plan the company is
working to anticipates significant continued growth in this area,
and discussions with current and potential customers have given
ABP confidence that this trend looks set to continue in a post-Brexit
economy.
ABP Humber Director Simon Bird comments: “We have seen
significant growth at our Humber container terminals in recent
years, and all the indications are that this will continue despite
Brexit. We anticipate growth in container shipping in the coming
years, and at ABP on the Humber we are keen to position ourselves
to take advantage of that growth. This is a huge vote of confidence
in the economy of the North of England at this crucial time.”
The combined strength of ABP’s four Ports on the Humber (Grimsby,
Goole, ImminghamandHull)make up around half of the company’s
revenue and some 13% of the UK’s seaborne trade. The Humber
estuary is increasingly being promoted by business and politicians
as the UK’s energy hub, with significant growth in the renewables
sector along the Humber being a major part of that role.
The Hull and Immingham investments are just part of ABP’s
commitment to £1 billion of investment across all of its ports
over the next five years. There are exciting times ahead, and the
opportunities are about far more than excellent port operations.
In particular, ABP has an eye on the possibility of new Free Trade
Zones post-Brexit. These could allow for goods and parts to be
imported, manufactured and re-exported from the designated
Zone without incurring the usual import procedures or tariffs.
Simon Bird again: “Brexit represents opportunities for port-based,
export-led manufacturing, particularly if the Government is able
to introduce Free Trade Zones at ports. This would provide great
opportunities for customers to reduce costs for inbound materials
and also take advantage of spare capacity in containers, trucks and
ships, to re-export.” Interesting thoughts indeed!
£50m investment in Hull & Immingham container terminals
Simon Bird – ABP Humber Director Liebherr ship-to-shore crane at Hull container
terminal