DRY BULK AND SPECIALIST CARGO HANDLING

Humber International Terminal: a dry bulk powerhouse

Simon Bird, Director, ABP , Hull, UK

The Port of sits on the south and biomass all transit Immingham on a tonnes of coal at any given time and stocks bank of the Humber Estuary and forms regular basis, along with crude oil, LPG, are mapped via GPS to ensure that each part of the UK’s largest ports complex – project cargos including wind turbine customer’s product is kept entirely separate and the fourth largest in Europe – which components, railway tracks and even the from the next. When it’s called off and fed operates on the country’s busiest trading capital’s Christmas tree, which comes from into the automated system for transport to gateway, a channel that sees upwards of Norway via DFDS’ Immingham terminal the end user, the system ensures the correct 30,000 vessel movements every year. before making its way to Trafalgar Square pile is identified and the right stock is sent The Humber is very much a working in London by road. The port also handles on its onward journey. estuary, a 40-mile long expanse of water vehicles, Ro-Ro/lo-lo and containers. By 2003 it had become clear that with its source at Trent Falls and its mouth The Estuary’s natural deep water the country’s appetite for coal was still opening into the North Sea between channel swerves towards Immingham from increasing, and Immingham was in need Spurn Point in East Yorkshire and Donna just west of . It dictated where of further dry bulk discharge and handling Nook on the Lincolnshire coast, with the port and the town would be located in capacity. Humber International Terminal’s tributaries including the Ouse, Trent and 1912, and it’s that channel that has allowed second berth (HIT 2) was built at a cost the Hull. the port to develop and grow. of $90 million and increased HIT’s total The river joins northern Lincolnshire Originally established to handle coal quay length by a further 220 metres – and the East Riding of Yorkshire in exports, it became clear in the late 1990s allowing HIT to handle a Capesize and trading success, with the four Humber that additional berthing capacity was a Panamax vessels at the same time, on a ports of Hull, , Grimsby and needed in Immingham due to increasing quay totalling 520 metres in length. By Immingham at its centre. This quartet of coal imports, and a new facility that would 2012 HIT had celebrated its 100 millionth state-of-the-art facilities pump US$2.2 be large enough to accommodate Capesize tonne of cargo. billion into the regional economy each vessels bringing in excess of 130,000 Since the construction of HIT 1 in year, support 23,000 jobs in the area and tonnes over the quayside, was proposed. 2000, the terminal has seen the discharge the Port of Immingham is the powerhouse of not only coal, but also agribulks, and a key driver of ABP’s success on a Investment for growth including grain. The terminal has handled national level. Over $45 million was invested in the UK’s biggest ever single shipments of the development and construction of grain – 50,000 tonnes in 2010 and 66,000 Strategic location Immingham’s Humber International tonnes in 2015, but it’s biomass that’s now Located eight miles from its sister port Terminal (HIT), which was officially seen as the future for this mega terminal. of Grimsby to the east, itself famous opened in the year 2000. The new terminal for links to fishing and food and now a added a 300 metre berth to the west of Adapting to meet demand well-established base for the burgeoning the existing Immingham Bulk Terminal, As the UK’s energy mix changes to reflect offshore wind industry, Immingham is the and dredged to a depth of 14.7 metres. An consumers’ growing interest in renewable country’s busiest port by tonnage, handling automated conveyor system was installed fuel sources, ABP has adapted to meet this around 50 million tonnes of cargo each in 2005 to increase efficiency and allow need. In 2012 ABP’s biggest coal customer, year, 20 million tonnes of which is in the imported coal a smooth journey from ship Drax Power Ltd, announced it would be form of dry bulks. to stockyard and onward to the newly converting three of its units to run on wood Grimsby and Immingham are also a constructed rail load out facilities. pellets following the decision to transform major hub for the short sea car business. The terminal operates a traditional crane/ the UK’s largest power station into Europe’s Both DFDS and Immingham Container grab system, feeding product onto the open largest generator of renewable electricity. Terminal saw significant increases in unit conveyor system via hoppers, to be deposited ABP responded by proposing a dramatic load traffic from Europe and the Baltic into the terminal’s dedicated stockyard by a change to its existing facilities at HIT in States in 2014 and this trend is continuing. fleet of semi-automatic stacker reclaimers. order to guarantee the long-term future of Coal, ores, grain, fertiliser, road salt The stockyard can hold up to one million its most important asset.

126 Edition 68: November 2015 www.porttechnology.org DRY BULK AND SPECIALIST CARGO HANDLING

About the author

Simon Bird joined ABP in the role of Director Humber, with responsibility for the ports of Grimsby, Immingham, Hull and Goole. Simon spent the previous 15 years as Chief Executive ABP worked with Drax to plan a as possible. Specialist cleaners make sure of the Bristol Port Company, terminal unlike anything seen before. A the conveyors are kept free of blockages delivering significant improvement projected demand for six million tonnes and contaminants, and industrial magnets in revenue and profit and expanding of North American and Canadian wood positioned at strategic points along the ports portfolio of customers. Prior pellets per year required an innovative conveyor’s route are used to pinpoint and to this, Simon held a number of solution and the concept of Immingham remove metal fragments in the product. senior roles at the Mersey Docks and Renewable Fuels Terminal (IRFT) was To complement the new infrastructure, Harbour Company, International born. ABP has also invested $22.7 million Water and BAe plc. Four 25,000 tonne-capacity storage in two bespoke Siwertell Continuous silos have been built using a slip-forming Ship Unloaders (CSUs), which were About the organisation process by GRAHAM Construction. The transported up the Estuary by barge to process saw the silos grow at a rate of three their permanent home on the quayside metres every twelve hours and these are at HIT 1. The two machines, which connected to HIT 1 via a fully automated are used to discharge biomass vessels, system carrying biomass from ship to silo work on the principle of the Archimedes’ ABP is the UK’s leading port via 1.2 kilometres of covered, over ground Screw, drawing the cargo up and onto the operator, with a unique network of 21 conveyors, and from silo to the railway conveyor system at a rate of up to 2,400 ports across , Scotland and network using an innovative underground tonnes per hour, which is almost three Wales. The company’s ports include conveyor belt feeding the new rail load times faster than a crane and can make a Immingham, the UK’s busiest port, out, designed to deliver the cargo into rail huge difference to discharge rates in terms and , the nation’s second wagons which take the product straight to of speed and efficiency. The CSU system largest and Europe’s most efficient Drax’s Selby base using the rail network. also reduces spillages and dust. container port, as well as the UK’s The $200 million IRFT, which at 65 The HIT/IRFT terminal now boasts number one for cars and cruise. The metres high, dominates the skyline of the state-of-the-art rail loading facilities for group's other activities include rail port, is the first of its kind in the world both biomass and coal, loading trains with terminal operations ( Rail and boasts a smaller, sister facility at the up to 24 x 70 tonne wagons in just 30 Terminal), ship's agency, dredging , which has been designed minutes and consistently achieving over (UK Dredging Ltd), and marine to handle one million tonnes of biomass 80% Right Time Departures from the consultancy (ABPmer). Each port also per year for Drax, but which is already terminal, which handles up to 36 trains offers a well-established community handling in excess of this. per day. This performance was recognised of port service providers. In 2014 at the 2015 Rail Freight Group Awards, ABP and its customers handled 94.5 IRFT: Phase 2 with Immingham being named Business million tonnes of cargo. Together with Phase two of IRFT, which has seen four of the Year. our customers, we support 84,000 jobs more silos added to the four of phase As if to underline the significance and contribute £5.6 billion to the UK one, will double the storage capacity of of this critical link in the UK’s energy economy every year. the terminal to 200,000 tonnes when supply chain, HIT 1 recently handled these additional storage giants become the world’s largest single shipment of Enquiries operational. As well as providing unrivalled biomass. Almost 60,000 tonnes of wood capacity, the system also meets exacting pellets were unloaded from the POPI S – James Leeson, ABP Head of safety standards, with fire suppression, dust the first time such cargo has been carried Commercial Humber extraction and heat monitoring systems, by a Panamax-class vessel. The ship was [email protected] which also extend throughout the facility loaded at the Westview Terminal in Prince 01472 246 204 onto the conveyor system to ensure the Rupert, British Columbia, before making www.abports.co.uk transit of this volatile material is as safe the 34-day journey to Immingham.

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