Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Hull has recently signed a new ten-year agreement with TransAtlantic UK Ltd, which operates up to three sailings a week linking the Humber with Sweden, for a new bespoke ten-acre terminal in Hull.
As a result of the expansion of TransAtlantic’s operations, this new agreement will see ABP invest £3.5m in a state-of- the art 8,500m2 warehouse in King George Dock. The investment also includes the refurbishment of existing storage capacity and railway sidings and will incorporate humidity controls for the storage of steel coils within the new warehouse.
The services operated by TransAtlantic have been calling at ABP’s Port of Goole since the early 1990s and now handle in the region of 400,000 tonnes a year. The move to Hull is to accommodate increasing volumes of trade which will also require the relocation of two mobile harbour cranes.
Matt Jukes, ABP port director of Hull & Goole, said: “After many successful years of operating at Goole, we are delighted to respond to TransAtlantic’s expansion plans through the investment at King George Dock, which further strengthens Hull’s role in Scandinavian trade.”
Nick Green, Managing Director,TransAtlantic UK Ltd, said: “We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with ABP. This new, modern terminal in Hull gives us operational advantages, which will result in improved service to our clients.”
Ma°rten Carlquist, senior advisor at Rederi AB TransAtlantic, said: “The Hull terminal creates a new platform for development for TransAtlantic. We are looking forward to expanding our business in co-operation with ABP.”
Jukes added:“AlthoughTransAtlantic is leaving Goole,ABP
is now actively marketing its former terminal and we are in discussions with a number of companies which see Goole, the UK’s most inland port, as an exciting opportunity for new trade development.”
TransAtlantic UK Ltd is part of the Swedish company Rederi AB TransAtlantic.
Rederi AB TransAtlantic provides container shipping operations between Sweden and the UK, roll-on/roll-off and container shipping operations in the Baltic Sea as well as roll- on/roll-off side port shipping operations across the Atlantic and along the east coast of the USA.
ABP is Britain’s largest and leading ports group handling around 150 million tonnes a year and employing nearly 2,000 staff across the business.
ABP owns and operates 21 ports in England, Scotland and Wales: Ayr, Barrow, Barry, Cardiff, Fleetwood, Garston, Goole, Grimsby, Hull, Immingham, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Lowestoft, Newport, Plymouth (Millbay), Port Talbot, Silloth, Southampton,    Swansea, Teignmouth    and    Troon.
ABP’s 21 ports, together with the other transport-related businesses that constitute the ABP group, form a UK-wide network capable of handling every conceivable type of cargo. ABP is backed by investment in modern facilities and equipment, and supported by experienced staff. The group’s other activities include rail terminal operations (Hams Hall), dredging (UK Dredging Ltd) and marine consultancy (ABPmer).
The port estates owned by ABP cover 12,000 acres of land and seabed across the UK.
ABP also owns 49% of DP World Southampton (Southampton container terminal) and 33% of Tilbury Container Services (Tilbury container terminal).