HUMBER\\\
Business in Hull and Goole is holding up well, despite the recession, says ABP’s director for the two ports, Matt Jukes. There has inevitably been a slight slowdown in some traffic, notably those that are related to the building trade, like timber but liquid bulks and dry bulks are both doing well. Hull and Goole’s strength are their diversity. “Yes, there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment, but it’s nothing like the frightening slowdown we saw in 2008,” he says. “There’s no cause for pessimism.”
really helpful to firms that need to make major investment decisions quite soon. As the experience of Sheerness and Vestas has shown, these are quite challenging projects and if the Government lacks complete commitment, it can make life difficult. Jukes adds: “There has been some procrastination and we need an answer from the Government on aspects of its energy policy. And I don’t think the benefits that a scheme like this could bring have been properly understood – it could be hundreds,
which should drastically speed up the development process. The most public face of the port of
Hull are the ro ro ferries used by P&O, although important volumes of ro ro freight also use the Finland Terminal. Volumes are down but a move from newspaper to magazine printing could well favour ports in the North of England.
Goole has lost Transatlantic, albeit
to another port in the ABP family, but RMS remains as the inland port’s biggest customer, shipping containers and steel through the Boothferry Terminal. North West Trading is Goole’s main bulk customer and the main handler of biomass there. Often, ships will part discharge in Hull and then sail
Issue 4 2012
31 Optimistic Hull awaits Green Port outcome
down river to Goole to discharge the remaining cargo. Steel importer and trader Kettlewell has just signed a new contract and bulk handler Damac also has a long term contract. ABP markets Goole as the UK’s
leading inland port, and while maximum ship size is limited to around 5-6,000dwt, the fact that it is 35-40 miles nearer inland is
an important cost saver for many types of bulk cargo. And although Transatlantic may have gone, there have already been several significant enquiries for parts of the old terminal, says Matt Jukes. “We are seeing a resurgence in short- sea shipping, and there are already some very exciting ideas for the site.”
Major investments are still
going on, for example. As well as Transatlantic’s £5m new terminal on the site of a former grain silo, terminal operator and stevedore Jenkins Shipping is investing £3m in a new shed for paper imports which should open towards the end of 2012. The company already operates at Hull’s Finland Terminal and in Goole. “Beyond that,” says Matt Jukes,
“the major project is of course Green Port Hull, in which Siemens plans to build a major wind turbine assembly plant at Alexandra Dock.” The planning process is nearing completion and it is hoped that the statutory six-month judicial review process will start in mid to late July. With that complete, the way will then be clear for Siemens to make its final decision on the £230m scheme – clearly the planning consent needs to be completely unconditional before the button can be pushed on such as major investment. “Siemens are very keen, but
clarity from the Government on its long-term strategy on energy policy is absolutely vital for major investment decisions like these,” says Matt Jukes. Hull and ABP have the land, Siemens is a large and successful company but “the middle bit is Government policy.” At the moment, HM Gov is
sending out rather mixed signals on its energy policy, which isn’t
if not thousands of jobs.” Other aspects of green energy
also hold out promise for ABP. Like Immingham, Hull is looking to develop its biomass imports. “We’ve spend a lot on our rail infrastructure in the past 2-3 years,” Jukes says. This is of particular interest to the large power stations across the Pennines. Much closer to home, Real Ventures is working on a smaller dockside power station to produce power for the local market. Exports could benefit from the
energy revolution too - the Du Pont/ BP joint Vivergo venture is planning what will be the biggest ethanol refinery with its on jetty within the ABP estate at Saltend near Hull, and is expected to produce around half a million tonnes of experts a year, though most of the feedstock will be locally grown. To the east of Saltend, an area
of 400 acres has been earmarked for a possible supplier park for the offshore wind industry. At the moment, the manufacturers in the sector tend to ship components and assemblies over long distances but the industry could benefit from a motor industry-style supplier park. “One thing Hull does have a lot of is land,” says Jukes. “Our entire estate here is around 2,000 acres, which is in fact the biggest at ABP.” ABP has also worked with local
government to get fast track Local Development Orders for the site,
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