Timber is passing through the Port of Howden again following the end of a lien on cargoes and the takeover of Baltic Forest Lines‘ timber service by TTS Shipping Ltd.

The lien was imposed by Port of Howden operator PD Port Services which was owed large sums of money by Baltic Forest Lines, which subsquently went into administration.

Martyn Pellew, PD Port Services’ commercial manager, said: “The situation has been quickly and amicably resolved. Timber cargoes are flowing freely through Howden and a new liner service is bringing in timber as a replacement to the company which got in trouble.”

Mr Pellew said of the lien: “We were put in a difficult commercial situation which was not of our choosing and which we were not comfortable with.”

Dougie Bryce, of TTS Shipping Ltd, said the company is trying to replace the service formerly operated by Baltic Forest Lines, which featured regular shipments from Tallinn, Riga and Halmstad in Sweden.

&#8220The situation has been quickly and amicably resolved. Timber cargoes are flowing freely through Howden and a new liner service is bringing in timber”

Martyn Pellew, PD Port Services commercial manager

He said: “We know a lot of people liked the routes and liked Howdendyke, so we are keeping these lines going. We know it worked and saw no reason to change it. It’s been a very good start.”

TTS has had six sailings arrive at Howden since taking over the service.

Colchester-based Ess-Enn Ltd had some 9,500m3 of timber affected by the lien, which was released after a negotiated settlement.

Mike Lisney, general manager of Ess Enn Ltd, said: “I think it’s a worrying trend that the ports can exert so much pressure on the receivers [of timber].”