Security is now a hot topic for UK ports - a concern that has heightened with the events of 9/11.
“Merchant shipping has been identified as a target and because of this an international agreement has been reached whereby ships and ports put extra security measures in place,” says the director of UK Major Ports Group, John Dempster. “Additional fencing and security cameras are being installed. The measures are all about protecting the ships, not the ports but this does involve controlling the access to all ports.”
The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code came into effect on July 1 - a far-reaching security regime that aims to establish an international framework of co-operation between government agencies and the shipping and port industries to prevent incidences affecting ships or port facilities that are involved in international trade.
According to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), ships and port facilities are now approaching complete compliance with the new IMO security measures. The latest figures available to the IMO Secretariat - from reports received by governments - reveal that 89.5 per cent of more than 9,000 declared port facilities now have their Port Facility Security Plans (PFSPs) approved. This is a considerable improvement from the previous 69 per cent before July 1. There are areas where progress has not been as rapid as was hoped with developing countries appearing to fall behind and countries in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe also slow to implement the measures.
Another topic at the top of UK ports’ agenda is whether the European Commission will introduce a package port service. Says Dempster: “This concerns arrangements for service providers and particularly affects cargo handling. If ports are handling the cargo themselves, then it could cause a lot of problems especially if the authorization to do that is lost. Ultimately it could then dissuade people from investing. In some ports in Europe it is alleged that cosy deals take place with service providers, making it hard for new entrants to get in, so if the package port service is introduced there will be more opportunity for competition. But in the UK there is already strong competition between ports - we don’t need to create competition within the ports themselves.”
The UK ports industry is the largest in Europe, in terms of total tonnage handled - about 570 million tonnes a year. Despite the large number of ports, much of the tonnage is concentrated into a comparatively small number - the top 16 ports account for 80 per cent of the total.
The port of Dover is well on course to see record volumes this year, with more than 300,000 pallets expected. “Primarily goods come in from central America,” says George Hammond managing director, Brian Madderson. “We receive bananas and plantains from Colombia and pineapples and melons from Costa Rica.”
With the volume of fruit increasing, growth is being fuelled by more exports from West Africa. “The quality of produce is steadily improving and it has become a well-controlled, growing point of distribution,” says Madderson. “We get a vessel every week from West Africa which is managed by Africa Express Line. This brings in bananas from Cameroon, pineapples from Ghana and bananas and plantains from the Ivory Coast. When in season it also brings tomatoes from Senegal, grapes from Morocco and papaya from Ghana.”
There are three main types of port in the UK. Most of the largest ports are owned by plcs. This group includes ports such as Liverpool, Felixstowe, Tees & Hartlepool and Forth Ports. It also includes the 21 ports owned by Associated British Ports. ABP is the UK’s leading and largest ports group, handling around a quarter of the country’s seaborne trade. ABP’s Ports of Grimsby & Immingham and Ipswich have considerable experience in the handling of imports of onions and potatoes, and its Port of Southampton has dedicated facilities for handling fresh produce.
Since ABP’s Port of Immingham began handling fresh produce imports in 2001 for Israeli producers with a ship-to-shelf logistics package, operated by BGL Logistics, the service has attracted a number of new customers.
Agrexco, which markets the Carmel brand, is one of the port’s main customers. Specialist reefer vessels, operated by the Swedish company LauritzenCool, operate a regular service into Immingham carrying a variety of produce, including citrus fruits and potatoes. On arrival, the cargo is either transferred to BGL’s stores in nearby Cleethorpes for onward distribution to the retail trade or delivered directly to local packing houses. The stevedore for this traffic is PD Port Services.
The East Anglian Port of Ipswich handles regular shipments of onions from New Zealand for its main import customer, Holus Bureau. ABP Ipswich receives, on average, six vessels a year at the port’s Coldock Terminal with ABP directly employed to discharge the ship and provide the necessary storage and warehousing. Recent investment includes the construction of a new 16,000 sqm warehouse at the Coldock Terminal
Southampton is an established centre in the UK for fresh produce, handling mainly tomatoes, together with salads, citrus fruit and containerised fresh produce.
Under ABP’s agreement with the Federation of Canary Islands Producers, Southampton is the sole UK port for the import of around 100,000 pallets of Canary Islands fresh produce every year. The majority consists of tomatoes for distribution to wholesalers and supermarkets around the UK. Smaller volumes of peppers, avocados and cucumbers can be handled during the season, which normally lasts between October and May. During this period two to three refrigerated vessels a week call at Southampton for discharge.
The port’s dedicated Canary Isles fruit terminal at 104 berth, provides 14,000 sqm of temperature controlled warehousing to ensure that the produce is kept in prime condition. Southampton Fruit Handling Ltd provides the stevedoring expertise that enables efficient discharge of the vessels, receipt in the warehouse and final distribution to specialised road transport.
ABP Connect, the value-added services division of ABP launched in April 2001, adds value to supply-chain management through its warehousing, distribution, transportation and logistics services throughout the UK. ABP Connect incorporates businesses that were previously operated by other parts of the ABP Group, including the Cardiff Cold Store, a 31,000 m3 modern temperature-controlled facility at the Port of Cardiff, which was extended by a further 22,000 m3.
As a whole the shipping industry is progressing reasonably well. Tonnage is slowly rising especially for containers and unitised shipping and traffic continues to increase. However there have been setbacks when it comes to further growth. “The capacity for container ports which have specialised equipment needs to increase, because existing concerns could well reach capacity in the next two to three years,” says Aiden Duffy, the British Port Association’s secretary. “There have been a number of proposals for expansion including the development of a container terminal at Dibden Bay in Southampton. Although this was recently turned down on environmental grounds there are other proposals in place.
These proposals include London Gateway, situated on the Thames, Felixstowe and Harwich. “There is a definite need for growth,” he says. “Containers are larger and deeper now and the number of facilities is pretty limited.”
In addition to increasing port capacity, there is also investment within ports to update equipment. George Hammond is investing in new handling equipment that includes two-pallet forklift trucks and electric pallet trucks. “We are involved with Dover Harbour Board on a project we started last year,” says Madderson. “It is a 30-year plan that we have undertaken in conjunction with Halcrow Engineering and High Point Rendell. Our aim is to look at the ports and to try and find ways to meet growth targets of businesses by developing new or enlarged facilities. We are hopeful that when studies are complete we will look at starting one or two projects to expand the ports. Maybe additional berths, new technology and mobile harbour cranes and temperature controlled storage. As a whole, I think we are financially robust and well-placed to handle any financial pressures.”
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