Cross-country cargoes show coastal can be best
Two recent exports of coke have shown that staff at Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Ports of Grimsby and Immingham can find some surprising causes for celebrations.
For a port that regularly handles millions of tonnes of coal, two 22,000 tonne shipments of coke should seem pretty small. However, this cargo was shipped by steelmakers, Corus, from its Scunthorpe works, to its plant in Port Talbot, South Wales. A problem solved for Corus, cargo off the UK’s already busy road and rail network and a gratifying double for ABP staff at Immingham and Port Talbot, its sister port in South Wales.
The Port of Immingham handles small coastwise shipments around the country on a regular basis but as John Fitzgerald, Port Director of Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Ports of Grimsby and Immingham explains, these two recent cargoes show how a seaborne route avoiding road and rail can make sense for much larger shipments to UK destinations.
He says, “The Port of Immingham is one of the UK’s most significant gateways for international trade and we’re all used to seeing vessels come and go with massive inter-continental cargoes. It’s great to see important regional businesses like Corus thinking innovatively about how the Port can help with some of their internal UK distribution too. Good news for the Port, good news for our customers and good news for the environment too!”
Andrew Kirby, Lead Demand Planner, Long Products Division at Corus said that while the two shipments are one-offs for the time being, the company is keen to explore all the available transport options for its products and raw materials.
“It’s always satisfying to come up with solutions that make sense financially and help us do our bit for the environment. With two such significant ports local to our steelworks, coastal shipping can be an option worth considering.”
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