Steel making continues in England with another raw materials shipment docked at Immingham Bulk Terminal. Coke and iron ore shipments are destined for the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, twenty miles inland. British Steel, the customer, says there is more on the way.
The UK Government has confirmed the arrival of a new shipment of raw materials at British Steel on Sunday (27 April). They say it bolsters the UK’s national security by protecting the vital capability of domestic steel production. The UK Government took control of the nearby Scunthorpe blast furnaces in April, after the Chinese owners threatened the plant with closure.
Steady pipeline of materials
British Steel has announced that a shipment of over 55,000 tonnes of blast furnace coke from Bluescope Steel’s plant in Australia has arrived at Immingham Bulk Terminal, onboard the MV Navios Alegria (as confirmed by Ship2Port.com). They say it will now be transferred by rail to the Scunthorpe site. The Navios Algeria is an 85,000 dwt bulk carrier on the fleet of Navios Maritime Holdings, headquartered out of Piraeus.
“The coke is crucial to helping ensure both of our blast furnaces can keep running for the coming months,” say British Steel. “[It’s] a vital part of efforts to provide a steady pipeline of materials for continued steelmaking.” Scunthorpe stood to lose over 2,000 jobs if the plant had closed, and many more in the supply chain.
Support national security
Another shipment of more than 66,000 tonnes of iron ore pellets and 27,000 tonnes of iron ore fines is due to arrive from Sweden next week. WorldCargo News understands these shipments have been paid for directly by the UK government using existing Department for Business and Trade (DBT) budgets. Official sources say this is in line with the government’s commitment to backing UK industry to succeed.
In a statement from the UK Government, released on Monday (28 April), the Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that the UK government is on the side of British workers and British industry. “The action we’ve taken to secure primary steelmaking at Scunthorpe will not only support our national security but help our steel sector supply the construction of the homes and infrastructure of the future.” Earlier, the works had rolled out its first consignment of long products – rails for the UK railway network, one of the critical virgin steel products for which blast furnace production is necessary.
Work for dockers and rail freight
Although the UK Government is reluctant to state it, their communications suggest that the plant at Scunthorpe was on the brink of running out of supplies. That would have forced the shutdown of the two blast furnaces – a process that can be damaging and very difficult to reverse. The blast furnaces at Scunthorpe are the last pair in the UK.
The latest delivery of vital raw materials reinforces the UK’s primary steelmaking capacity by ensuring both blast furnaces at Scunthorpe can remain operational and gives certainty to the workforce of around 3,000 employed at the steelworks. Moreover, the multiple deliveries of raw materials via Immingham are providing work for dockers and rail freight operations. The shipments already announced will require several dozen train movements.
Stabilising long-term operations
“By securing the raw materials we need to keep Scunthorpe going for the foreseeable future, we’ve helped protect thousands of crucial steel jobs,” added Jonathan Reynolds. “Now, British Steel workers and their families can breathe a sigh of relief and know that we are on their side.”
Allan Bell, recently appointed as the interim CEO of British Steel, said that successfully securing raw materials meant that production of steel could continue. That further implies that the furnaces were close to going cold. “We would not be here today without the hard work and dedication of our specialist procurement, technical and operational teams who have worked tirelessly on short timescales to secure the required raw materials,” he said. “Over the coming months, our focus will be on stabilising our operations for the long term, cementing British Steel as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of steel.”