Two record-breaking shipments of new cars have been handled in the Humber Estuary.
Immingham’s multi-purpose outer harbour development, Humber International Terminal, welcomed its first deep sea automotive vessels - two callings in four days - as port bosses helped meet demand in the automotive sector.
Pent-up demand from the pandemic and the chip shortage issue is being dealt with by dealers, and Associated British Ports has risen to the challenge, in what will be seen as a strong sign for the economy.
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The 200m long RCC America arrived on February 23 - the first of its kind at HIT, having never berthed or discharged a car carrier before. The operation involved multiple departments working closely with Grimsby-headquartered specialist GBA. Carrying an initial cargo of 2,570 vehicles the vessel is too large to be accommodated at the £26 million Grimsby River Terminal, now heading towards a decade of operations.
The success saw a further 2,700 vehicles arrive on February 26 aboard the Glovis Splendour, a vessel of identical length.
Both carried Kia’s into the port, with the South Korean brand’s UK pre-delivery inspection and logistics operations based at Stallingborough.
Simon Bird, Humber director for ABP, said: “We’re delighted to support Kia UK Ltd with this arrival of a deep-sea vessel to the Humber International Terminal. It’s great to see the internationally-acclaimed business is committed to the Humber region.
“The marine, commercial, operations and projects departments have all worked extremely closely, from the moment the customer confirmed that HIT was an option, all the way to the final vehicle being discharged.
“It has been a real testament to these teams that a solution was found, and the vehicles were able to safely discharge on the HIT2 jetty.”
Port operatives had to ensure the stern quarter ramp was able to safely land on the HIT 2 jetty, in a position that would allow the safe discharge of the cars. A safe and secure compound where the 2,600 vehicles could be discharged into also had to be found, with a safe and efficient route for the vehicles to travel from the vessel to the compound also identified.
Kia’s UK sales director, Steve Hicks, said: “Kia’s recent sales performance in the UK has been unprecedented, having finished the month of January as the biggest selling automotive brand in the UK. This huge demand for our products shows no sign of slowing, so effectively delivering our ever-growing product range at the rate that satisfies customer demand is absolutely essential. We’d like to thank ABP for rising to the challenge and successfully bringing our products ashore.”
The Humber is a huge player in the automotive import and export market, with Grimsby - the principal port - having handled upwards of half a million vehicles pre-pandemic.
Plans to expand Grimsby River Terminal were floated a year before Coronavirus hit - sending ripples through every economic decision.
The proposal, put to the Marine Management Organisation, sought to future-proof further the trade, building on the current 175m capacity.
It would be another huge multi-million pound investment, bringing an ability to handle vessels carrying almost 9,000 vehicles - three times the current capacity, which itself was a major increase on the 800-unit vessels that still enter Royal Dock for North Sea crossings.
Land-side automotive terminals to hold vehicles have been expanded on part of the former Huntsman Tioxide site.
ABP said the plan is "currently under review and being refreshed with a look at how we accommodate larger deep sea vessels".
