16


Issue 6 2017 - Freight Business Journal


///NORTH EAST ENGLAND Full steam ahead for Teesport


Frans Calje took over from David Robinson as PD Ports’


chief


executive last year, but don’t expect any spectacular changes in direction for the north-east’s main port operator. “In fact, the strategy started by David Robinson’s predecessor, has worked very well for us for the past 15 years,” he told FBJ in an interview. That strategy was to recognise


that the oil steel and chemicals industries, that had long underpinned both Teesport and the wider local economy, probably would not continue unchanged for ever and that diversification was essential. “All those years ago, we always


knew that at least one of those industries would have a wobble, and we needed to be prepared for it,” he explains. “Nowadays our business is much more balanced,”


says


Calje. “Our container business alone has grown to 500,000teu a year, and we have developments like the new intermodal rail terminal that opened in 2014.” Having commissioned its fiſth


ship-to-shore container crane, bringing annual maximum box capacity to around 650,000teu, a figure that the port expects to reach in about 2020, Calje and his team are contemplating


the next stage of Teesport’s container development. The centrepiece of this is the new Northern Gateway Container Terminal on the Number 1 deepsea quay, on which work is about to start. Calje explains: “Ships are


getting bigger – there is never- ending pressure to reduce per- slot costs.” And while it’s unlikely that Teesport will become a deepsea calling point-p, Calje can certainly see a future in which it serves as a hub for regional services, for example to the major transhipment hubs in the Med, or to and from the Baltic. Currently, Teesport could handle vessels of up to 4,000teu and the average size actually handled is around 1,200teu, but that figure will inevitably increase, Calje believes. “It’s not about trying to


become a main deepsea port – 22,000teu ships are not going to happen here. But the old mainline workhorses will become the feeder vessels of tomorrow, so there will be the opportunity to handle ships of between 4,000 and 6,000teu.” Much of Teesport’s container


growth has been on the back of port centric logistics, a concept that PD Ports pioneered. The idea of this is to bring the sorts


of logistics and added value activity that was traditionally carried out at inland centres into or near the ports – helping to minimise miles on the road and generally helping to green the supply chain. Major firms that have set up operations in or near the port include Tesco, Asda, Argos and tea and coffee importer, Taylors of Harrogate. No port could function


without inland links, and Teesport has been assiduous in developing rail services. There is a daily link to Mossend and Grangemouth in Scotland, operated by DB Schenker and the port is working with some of its clients to add a second train to the service. However, Calje would like to see further links developed, to North-West England and to London and the South. Gauge clearance is an issue on


the routes across the Pennines to Manchester (less so to Daventry and the south) and intensive work has been going on with the train operators and Network Rail to try and crack the problem – which is actually really only a handful of specific pinch-points, says Calje. But it is a goal worth purusing.


While the distances between Teesport and Manchester are


Coke to Newcastle


Energy product supplier Oxbow is now importing petroleum coke through the Port of Tyne, with the first shipment of 50,000 tonnes arriving in July.


of uses in steel, aluminium, cement manufacturer it is also an important component of manufactured smokeless fuels. The petcoke that the Port of Tyne is handling is fuel grade,


for use on stoves, cookers and open fires for the UK and Irish markets at its manufacturing facility near Durham. Tyne’s commercial director


– port services, Alasdair Kerr, said: “The Port of Tyne has diversified its bulk cargo operations to handle a wide range of commodities for customers from energy producers to recycling companies. “This is the start of regular


shipments for Oxbow and we are delighted that we have been able to work with them to add value to their business.” Oxbow’s managing director,


Petroleum coke (petcoke) is


a by-product of the oil refining process. While it has a variety


producing virtually no ash when burned and Oxbow turns it into high quality briquettes


Mike Cusick, added: “We have a global reputation for sourcing quality fuels throughout the world, and now that we are working with the Port of Tyne we can continue to get our products to market quickly,


not long, he is convinced that rail can compete with road transport, provided it is agile and responsive enough. “Aſter all, we managed to make Scotland work and that is a similar distance,” he points out. However, Calje’s ambitions


do not end in Manchester or the Midlands. “We’re also looking at connections to Greater Manchester and to Daventry – but even to Tilbury and Barking.” Teesport, he points out, is the main UK hub port for the Baltic region and many users would appreciate a rail link allowing them to reach markets in the south of the country. As


for shipping services,


Teesport expects to sign two new services between now and the end of the year, but Calje isn’t saying any more than that at this stage. Ro ro has been doing well too


– in fact, a significant proportion of Teesport’s handled


containers are by this method. The


port is handling the lion’s share of the train bodies imported from Japan for assembly at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant – on some of the largest ro ro vessels seen in the port, although these use quarter ramps on the general cargo quays rather than the dedicated ro ro terminal.


The latter is handling regular P&O Ferrymasters freight to ro ferries to Zeebrugge and Rotterdam, and its capacity is being upgraded to handle larger vessels, while maintaining eight- hour turnaround times. Teesport – and Teesside - have


though not enjoyed unbroken progress over the last few years. The closure of the local steelworks in Redcar certainly put a dent in the local economy. But even here Calje looks on


the bright side. “I think actually it’s a huge opportunity. We now have


the first Development


Corporation outside London and one with 4,800 acres of land available for port-related activity.” Yes, there are legacy issues


with the former steelworks land and it might require work to remove pollutants, but there are some potential uses – storage of material from the Sirius polyhalite mine is one – that might not require very extensive remediation works, at least immediately. That said, Calje would never


downplay the effect of the SSI closure on the local community. “It’s a bit like, if you finished work on Friday thinking everything in your garden wasn’t quite rosy – but by the following Monday,


the garden itself had entirely disappeared.” It also sliced away a third tonnage, almost


of Teesport’s


literally overnight. That so much of the lost


tonnage has been replaced so quickly, including £40m in the container business alone, is a tribute to the port’s versatility and willingness to invest in its future, said Calje. He described the fiſth ship


to shore crane (designated 2.3, it being the third quay on No. 2 berth) as the final piece in the jigsaw, ahead of the next stage of the port’s container development. Even the Brexit cloud might


have a silver lining in that, freed of EU obligations, the UK might be free to develop proper freeports – and Teeside, with its deep water quay and large amounts of land, might be just the place for one. The Centre for Policy Studies


has already published a report by MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire, Rishi Sunak - The Free Ports Opportunity – expounding on the potential of the concept. Calje is convinced that, should Brexit go ahead in the form that the government currently envisages, there would be the political will to develop the idea.


further increase efficiencies, and we have reduced road miles. It is a great solution for us. The Port of Tyne has an important role to play in our future success and growth.” Soil Machine Dynamics


(SMD) is also relocating its servicing operations to the


port’s Tyne Dock estate in South Shields. The Tyneside based company


manufacturing


builds remotely operated vehicles used underwater in the oil and gas, telecommunications renewables


and industries.


Servicing, maintenance and training will transfer to the new facility. The firm will occupy a


23,000 sqft unit at Tyne Dock, which has been modified to offer bespoke accommodation. The port now hosts over 100 commercial tenants.


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