Begin your new position as abp’s director humber
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my first three months working on the Humber. I’m looking forward to delivering changes that will help ABP improve its operations and customer relationships, make our ports safer and more enjoyable places to work, and ultimately more profitable businesses.
The humber is a major import hub for softwood timber. outline how you see this sector’s importance in terms of overall trade for the humber ports
Forest products have always and will continue to be, a vital part of the cargo mix here on the Humber. As a group ABP handles two million tonnes of forest products each year and the Port of Hull is the UK’s leading softwood timber port, handling approximately one million cubic metres of product per annum.
Are there any new port investments planned which will involve the timber sector
We have recently completed a series of significant investments which will help us develop dedicated timber terminals in both Hull and Immingham for a number of our customers, as well as additional facility improvements for a key customer in Hull.
What trends, changes and priorities are you noticing with your customers operating in the forest products sector
There’s been a real shift in customer expectation and we have focussed heavily on meeting and exceeding those expectations. Investment in our workforce and infrastructure will allow us to deliver a more efficient service to our customers, who in turn will benefit from increased productivity and improved service levels.
Wood pellets for biomass power generation has been attracting interest. will there be further emphasis and investment in this sector at the ports in the future
The Port of Immingham is home to the world’s largest dedicated biomass handling facility, built as part of a £130m Humberwide agreement with Drax. This agreement has also seen the construction of a biomass terminal in Hull and both facilities will see ABP supply up to six million tonnes of biomass per year, to the power station. Investment will continue so ABP can service the future demands of this developing market.
How does the humber ports’ recent growth and development compare with other major Uk ports
The Humber ports are at the forefront of renewable energy in the UK and it is this which has become their USP. The Humber is ideally placed for companies wanting to establish and service the round three wind farms in the North Sea and the Port of Grimsby, being the closest to the mouth of the Estuary, has become an important base for companies including Siemens, E-On, DONG, Centrica who have based their O&M activities at the Port. Hull will shortly become the location of the UK’s first offshore wind turbine manufacturing, assembly, installation and service facility thanks to a £310m investment by both Siemens and ABP, while Immingham is home to the world’s largest dedicated biomass handling facility.
What opportunities and challenges do you expect to see facing the ports and importing sectors in 2016
The New Year will present a number of opportunities for the region and for ABP; not least the increase in the Humber Enterprise Zone, which we hope will attract further investment and innovation to the area. For ABP on the Humber, the second phase of Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminal will be commissioned shortly, the Siemens development on Alexandra Dock will welcome its first vessel towards the end of the year, the opening of Hull Container Terminal will see us able to offer an improved service to our container customers and the development of a state-of the-art Marine Control Centre in Grimsby will allow ABP to focus its marine activity in a purpose-built facility. Of course there will be challenges; like many port operators across the UK we are currently working to mitigate the effects of the fall in coal volumes for example, and the proposed EU-wide Port Services Regulation will also pose challenges for the entire UK sector.
