32 Forth Ports. He


Issue 1 2012


Whisky is proof against recession for Forth Ports


Grangemouth has had “a positive year” in container terms, says Nik Scott-Gray, business development manager for Scottish ports at Grangemouth’s owner,


has


seen business come back fairly strongly on the back of the Scotch whisky industry. Whisky isn’t exactly recession-proof, it’s rather that the distillers are very adept at developing new markets. “And it’s not just whisky – a lot of other spirits, like vodka and rum are bottled here” – which all helps add to Forth Ports’ export volumes. Doubly fortuitously for the ports and shipping industry, a lot of the new markets are in far- flung emerging countries. But it’s not only alcohol.


“Scotland provides most of the world with its seed potatoes” - Africa, Spain and even one of the foremost growers, Egypt. It used to be a bulk trade but most now move in temperature-controlled containers, it being important to keep them just above freezing. Other reefer trade is also quite strong, mostly frozen fish and meat. Grangemouth’s container trade


is quite imbalanced in favour of exports, along with the rest of Scotland. “This means that there is a lack of empty containers,” says Nik Scott-Gray. “However, we are encouraging port-centric solutions. Homebase has recently gone for direct deliveries, consolidating here for their stores.” Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins also has its Scottish distribution centre in Grangemouth, not necessarily for maritime traffic. But in theory at least, much more could be done. Meanwhile, Scott-Gray that


anticipates Grangemouth’s


container business growth will be positive in 2011. There have been no major changes to the


Better Shipping t. ward


0131 554 1231 www.tward.co.uk shipping@tward.co.uk


International shipping expertise throughout the UK


Kirkaldy’s harbour master Andrew Rendle can look forward to a prosperous future following the port’s reopening


///SCOTLAND


Agribulks are also a major traffic in Dundee and the port is the backbone of the Scottish barley industry. Barley is brought in from the surrounding area, stored and dried there before being moved out again – not necessarily by ship. Another big advantage of Dundee is that it is built on rock, which makes it an ideal place for the huge jack-up rigs used in the oil and gas industry – so much so that they are now part of the city skyline. “People talk a lot about wind energy, but the oil and gas industry is still very, very important up here,” says Scott-Gray. Grangemouth also handles a


significant amount of general cargo and in fact shiſted more bulks than ever this year. The key to its success – and that of the other Forth Ports – is the new Sennebogen mobile crane. These multi-tools of the cargo handling world come with various


detachable equipment


and, moreover, can be moved by low-loader between the different locations if need be. It’s not every day that a port


reopens but this has happened at another of Forth Ports’ harbours, Kirkaldy in August with the aid of


container feeder lines serving the port – Feederlink, Unifeeder and BG Freight Line, and most of the world’s global operators continue to use the port – and MSC has recently boosted its volume. A feeder service to Tilbury remains an aspiration for Grangemouth. BG Freight Line added a third weekly departure


from Rotterdam to


Grangemouth from 24 January and now offers departures from Scotland on Thursday, Saturday and Monday. Two rail services have been


added fairly recently – to Elderslie near Paisley primarily for the whisky trade and another to Aberdeen. “We would like to have more, for example to Inverness or to the south,” says Scott-Gray. “It would fit in well with our concept of port-centric warehouses.” He points out, also, that Grangemouth is almost alone among UK east coast ports in still having a large amount of dockside land available – around 70 acres. “We were making good headway with filling this in 2008, but obviously with the recession a lot of potential customers have shelved their plans.” Some handling equipment has been renewed but perhaps more importantly, the port has recently invested in blower equipment and snowploughs to try and prevent a repetition of the shutdown of winter 2010/11.


The equipment uses urea and is similar technology to that used for airport runways. The port has long-term plans for


berth deepening. This would come into play if shipping lines decided to increase the size of feederships commonly used on services to ports like Grangemouth and the work would primarily involve removing a sill that separates the berths from the rest of the port, which is already quite deep. “It wouldn’t be an easy task, but it’s not insurmountable,” is Scott-Gray’s verdict. The MSC vessels that use the port are 1,000teu but the extra draſt would allow more heavy cargoes to be handled and help keep Grangemouth ahead of the game in a very competitive market. It may be the only major Scottish container port, but English east coast ports and the rail services to the south-east hubs are all vying for a slice of the traffic. Rosyth is the other major


handler of unitised business in Forth Ports’ stable – not just trailers on the DFDS ro ro service from Zeebrugge but containers too. The service has settled down well since DFDS decided to move to freight-only operation, and it is also handling good volumes of trade cars – mainly Mazdas, Mercs, Fords and Volvos, says Scott Gray, adding: “Ultimately we would like it to go to a second ship or even a new route.” A ro ro link to one of the major


European ports would be a big plus for Scotland, he considers. The other Forth Ports facilities


handle almost exclusively bulk, heavyliſt


and coaster traffic


and continue to be reasonably prosperous. Leith is busy with coated pipes and it and Dundee are both becoming centres for the offshore renewables industry. The Forth Array, Scotland’s biggest offshore wind farm is nearby. Forth Ports has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Edinburgh City Council and Scottish Enterprise to develop the industry.


a Freight Facilities Grant and has since seen “fantastic volumes”, including a lot of coastal traffic from southern ports such as Tilbury. By allowing bulk commodities to be moved in direct to local industries by ship, the port’s reopening has helped take a lot of trucks off the roads of what is also a popular resort town. Road salt is another big traffic


and Leith was instrumental in keeping roads in the far north open by shipping in small coaster loads to places such as Buckie, Inverness, Aberdeen and Shetland. The ferry port of Rosyth also


has its share of the general cargo business and now has a new scrap metal merchant as a tenant. It is also the construction base for the new Forth Road Bridge, work on which has now started. Finally, the small ports of Methil


and Burnt Island play their part with timber traffic and offshore work. They could also develop as O&M sites for windfarms in future, being close to the Firth of Forth. There is even talk of a passenger ferry from Burnt Island to Granton, near Edinburgh.


Pegasus rejoins Pall-Ex


Scottish-based Pegasus Express has rejoined the Pall-Ex palletised freight distribution network aſter a three-year absence. The haulier, which has depots in Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow and Preston, originally leſt in 2008 but has decided to rejoin the network, which is headed by Dragon’s Den star Hilary Devey. Pegasus director Joe McNab


said: “We are delighted to be back on board with Pall-Ex - 2012 will


be a period of expansion for us and we are confident that Pall-Ex’s network model and membership benefits will help us to achieve the desired growth.” Pall-Ex is continuing to push


its European expansion. Having already launched Pall-Ex Italia and


Pall-Ex Iberia, Pall-Ex


Romania launched earlier this month, becoming the first pallet network of its kind in Eastern Europe.


Investing in Aberdeen


Energy logistics specialist Peterson SBS is investing £1.5 million in its quayside operations at Aberdeen Harbour. The company has leased a further two berths from Aberdeen Harbour Board and has secured additional accommodation, including a transit warehouse for the receipt and containerisation of goods consigned for international distribution or offshore along with offices for


its operations There is also now no question


that Leith will focus on commercial development rather than housing, adds Scott-Gray. “I think it’s very exciting, especially for a port with such a history.” (Its charter dates back to the 13th Century.)


team. Half the transport fleet will also be upgraded this year. Peterson SBS managing


director Mike Porter said: “The international sea freight market is a key target for Peterson SBS in 2012 and to meet the needs


of this sector we have increased our quayside operations by leasing two more berths at Waterloo Quay. We also anticipate 25% uplift in demand for these services from our existing North Sea clients. The addition of the two berths will bring the total number of private berths we operate at Aberdeen Harbour to five.” Peterson SBS says it is the only oil and gas logistics contractor with its own private berthage in the port of Aberdeen. Peterson SBS has since 2008


been part of the Dutch logistics group Peterson Control Union, which specialises in inspection, quality management and logistics.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40