Peel Ports Group, the second largest port operator in the UK, is investing £10m (US$13.5m) in Heysham Port, on the Irish Sea coast, north of Liverpool. The operator says the project will further increase capacity and efficiency at the port.
Heysham is a principal trade link between Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. The port was recently among those terminals that stepped in when Holyhead was compromised by storm damage at the turn of the year (see feature reporting in the April print issue of WorldCargo News).
The Heysham investment package is aimed at the port’s Ro-Ro operations. Peel Ports say the project will include reconfiguring the port’s trailer park, and a new multi-lane “smart gate” operating system. The group also say a new state-of-the-art terminal operating system will be installed. Peel has not indicated the TOS chosen for the job.
Benefits for landside hauliers
According to the operators, the investment will benefit all operators at Heysham Port, with Isle of Man Steam Packet, CLdN and Stena Line all in line for increased capacity. Stena has already announced that it will deploy two of their new-build ‘NewMax’ hybrid ferries at the port, which will boost their freight capacity by 40%. The first Chinese-built ships are due to enter service in Autumn this year.
“The introduction of a new gate operating system will lead to a better experience for hauliers by improving reliability, reducing congestion, as well as creating additional space at the facility,” said Peel Ports. “The new terminal operating system will make it easier for arriving hauliers to identify trailers at the site, improving safety at the port in the process.” The works are due to begin in the coming weeks.
Growth in the unaccompanied freight
“This investment is hugely positive news for Heysham Port and the local community,” said Phil Hall, Mersey Port Director at Peel Ports Group, who also operate Irish Sea ports at Liverpool and Dublin. “We believe this work will future-proof our operations here for decades to come, as well as create growth opportunities for the facility in the process.” The additional capacity could easily be absorbed if disruption like the storm that affected Holyhead were to be repeated.
Stena Line, who operate between Heysham and Belfast in Northern Ireland, already intends to take advantage of the package. Paul Grant, their Regional Trade Director, says they have seen sustained growth in the unaccompanied freight market on their route. “We expect this trend to continue as we add further capacity. With the first of our new hybrid ships due to begin on the route later this year, the improved efficiency and extra space at the terminal will help facilitate the additional traffic and ensure a reliable service for our customers.”
Wide cargo range, but RoRo remains prime
Although Heysham is best known by truckers involved in trailer and containerised Anglo-Irish trade, the port also promotes itself as a project cargo facility for offshore wind, gas and energy. Agribulks, drybulks and automotive cargo are also handled. Although originally built by the nineteenth-century Midland Railway Company, Heysham Port does not handle any cargo by rail freight at present. The port does, however, have a passenger station, and there is adjacent rail infrastructure which serves the neighbouring two nuclear power stations.
RoRo operations will continue to underwrite port operations. “We were extremely pleased to hear about this investment,” said Robbie Niblock, Head of Commercial, CLdN RoRo Ltd. His counterpart at Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Brian Thomson, said it was a significant step forward for the port, which will help his company continue to grow their operations.
