ABP Port Director Grimsby & Immingham John Fitzgerald with Robin Woolcock, former Managing Director, Volkswagen Group UK on the Grimsby River Terminal with the Viking Constanza in the background (image courtesy of ABP/David Lee Photography)
On Friday, 20 September, Associated British Ports (ABP) officially opened a brand new terminal for handling vehicle imports and exports to and from the UK.
The Grimsby River Terminal (GRT) represents a £26 million investment in ABP’s Port of Grimsby and is capable of berthing two vessels simultaneously, each carrying up to 3000 cars.
Part of the UK’s busiest car handling port complex, Grimsby and Immingham, the Port of Grimsby currently handles nearly 400, 000 vehicles per year and customers include Volkswagen Group, Toyota, Peugeot Citroen and Suzuki.
By significantly increasing capacity, the new terminal will be capable of meeting rising demand from both existing and new customers.
As well as ABP’s Port of Grimsby, ABP also owns and operates another of the UK’s premier car handling ports, the Port of Southampton.
ABP Chief Executive, James Cooper, commented “This terminal, together with the brand new car handling facilities which ABP will shortly open in the Port of Southampton, is testimony to ABP’s strong commitment to serving the UK’s international automotive trade.”
ABP Port Director Grimsby & Immingham, John Fitzgerald, added “The terminal also shows how ABP is dedicated to building long term relationships with customers and delivering modern facilities that can help drive growth.”
Volkswagen was the first company to import vehicles through the Port of Grimsby almost 40 years ago. Opening the terminal, VW’s Robin Woolcock, said: “I am privileged enough to have seen this project right through from conception to completion and I’m proud to be here to mark the opening of the facility.
“Previously the lock put a limit on the number of cars we could bring into the port, so we’re extremely grateful to ABP for investing and securing the future of the Volkswagen Group at Grimsby.”
Facts about ABP’s automotive business
- ABP Group
- ABP (Grimsby, Immingham and Southampton) handles 32% of UK major port trade vehicle imports.
- ABP (Grimsby, Immingham and Southampton) handles 36% of the UK’s total major port automotive trade.
- ABP handles 41% of the UK’s major port trade vehicle exports.
- ABP has invested over £70 million to support the UK’s automotive trade over the last 10 years.
ABP Grimsby
- ABP Grimsby handled almost 400, 000 vehicles in 2012.
- Between 2008 and 2012, ABP Grimsby’s trade vehicle imports increased by 42%.
ABP Grimsby is part of the UK’s busiest car handling port complex, Grimsby & Immingham, which handled a total of 786, 000 vehicles in 2012.
ABP Southampton
· In 2012 ABP Southampton handled around 650, 000 trade vehicles, representing 18% of total UK major port trade vehicle traffic.
· Between 2009 and 2012 trade vehicle exports through ABP Southampton increased by 72% to reach 439, 000 vehicles
· In 2012 ABP Southampton handled 31% of the UK’s total major port trade vehicle exports.
· Car marques handled at Southampton Port include Ford, Renault, BMW, BMW Mini, Volvo, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Toyota, Fiat, Bentley and Rolls Royce
Facts about ABP
ABP is the UK’s leading ports operator handling around one quarter of the nation’s seaborne trade.
ABP’s 21 ports, together with the other transport-related businesses that constitute the ABP group, form a UK-wide network capable of handling a vast array 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).
ABP’s port estate totals 5000ha, including some 900ha of development land at key strategic locations around Britain.
ABP’s assets include:
· 87km of quay;
· 1000ha of open storage; and
· 1.4m sqm of covered storage.
In 2012 ABP handled over 115, 000 vessel movements.
Over the next 5 years, ABP plans to invest over £450 million in a wide range of major projects across the group.
Facts about ABP Humber
The four ports of Grimsby, Immingham, Hull and Goole handle more than 60 million tonnes of cargo between them each year.
Grimsby and Immingham form the UK’s biggest ocean gateway and moves around 53 million tonnes of cargo per annum.
