Humber’s links to Spain can ease the burden in the South
IMMINGHAM-BILBAO SAILING STARTED THIS MONTH
THE Humber’s new Spanish service is an early step in a strategy to bring more supply chain options up from the southern ports. The weekly Immingham-bilbao sailing started this month, with clothing and food flagged up for retailers.
It comes after investments totalling £50m were made on the Humber to make the north more appealing.
And Claire Screen, ABP’S head of commercial when it comes to containers, said the excellent road and rail connections beyond the terminals on both banks provide reliable and cost-effective and sustainable supply chain solutions for businesses.
Hull and Immingham have both seen huge investment to bring extra capacity and efficiencies across what it markets as Humber Container Terminal, with daily frequent services to major continental ports for both roll-on roll-off and load-on load-off cargoes.
“Against the backdrop of the global pandemic, 2020 brought many challenges for businesses across the world, nevertheless, ABP has risen to the challenge and has continued to build up its resilience by investing in port infrastructure and its container handling facilities ,” Claire said of her first few months in the role.
“I joined the business during the pandemic. It was a very exciting time to be joining ABP’S team on the Humber, with the investments made within the Humber Container Terminal, which mean we can bring greater flexibility for customers with no forward booking for collections or drop-offs and increased capacity.
“One of my main goals is to promote the fantastic options ABP’S ports on the Humber provide to international businesses. By moving cargo from southern ports to the Humber, businesses can save thousands of tonnes of CO2 every year travelling to locations within the central east-west corridor.
“Indeed, if businesses ‘think Humber’ this will help safeguard supply chains for traders concerned about potential disruption at ports in the South East. It will also enable traders to reduce journey times by bringing cargoes closer to their destinations in the North of England and the Midlands.”
While the UK has now left the EU, and documentation checks have changed, the physical inspections will arrive in July having been given a six month grace period as order inspection posts are built.
“ABP’S recent £50m investment was focused on terminal upgrades at Immingham and Hull container terminals in order to enhance the services we can offer to business all over the world wanting to bring their cargo into the UK,” Claire said.
“The £33m upgrade and improvement programme at Immingham will future-proof the terminal, extend its footprint, maximise efficiencies and improve the service to customers.
“2020 saw two new ship to shore cranes worth £11.5m arrive, six electric rubber tyre gantry cranes worth £7m, a safer car park was upgraded, and security gates were completely replaced for the increased traffic at the terminal.
“The newly expanded terminal, along with the recent expansion in its sister terminal in the Port of
Hull, means that the Humber has now the best-equipped and located container port offer for retailers and suppliers to access their goods across the Midlands and the North of England.
“In addition, the Humber offers excellent road and rail access, providing customers with swift and efficient transport of cargo to major distribution hubs and centres of production in Britain.
“There are high-frequency services that connect the ports to EU, The Baltics and Scandinavia, and are connected to base ports via feeders, linking with the global trades.”
Beyond the quayside ABP also offers portcentric warehousing and multi-user facilities to unpack containers and palletise cargo.”
Claire arrived on the Humber from Panelpina, a logistics and supply chain business now part of DSV. Prior to that she had served as global transport manager for Jaguar Land Rover and Kuehne & Nagel, covering automotive, aerospace and fast moving consumer goods including retail, hi-tech and pharma.
“My passion for the maritime industry stretches way back, from being a teenager and crewing a yacht to acquiring land and seabased industry qualifications,” she said.
“I can draw on insights gathered over my 20-year career focused on communicating with cargo owners across the UK, EU, and internationally, promoting the UK’S shipping and port options, to effectively support international business growth.”