UK port adds container capacity

PD Ports, based in Middlesborough in the United Kingdom, has welcomed the first vessel docking into its port facility in northeast England tied to what it calls a “new, dedicated service from Spain and Portugal into Teesport.” The Teesport facility is situated on the River Tees about four miles from Middlesborough.

The Kristin Schepers, a vessel capable of carrying 800 containers, arrived at Teesport in early December after a four-day sailing from Aveiro, Portugal, to discharge containerized cargo for onward distribution via truck.

The vessel’s route also includes port calls in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Cadiz, Spain; Setubal, Portugal; and Tilbury, England.

“This unique service offers best-in-class transit times and, when running as planned in 2023, will further boost our weekly roster of vessel calls, reaffirming our position at Teesport as the northern gateway for international trade,” says Geoff Lippitt, chief commercial officer at PD Ports. “We’re thrilled to be supporting the team at Ellerman with this new service and look forward to working alongside them to further develop the route.”

The Teesport region formerly hosted a steel mill that was idled several years ago and demolished earlier this year. Nonetheless, the PD Ports web page lists steel and metals as commodities as being shipped through the port, and British Steel maintains a service center in the Teesside region.

Other recycling-related operations are building a presence in the region. London-based plastic chemical recycling firm Mura Technology is constructing a facility in Teesside that will use its HydroPRS process that is expected to be operational in 2023. It will have a 20,000 metric tons per year production line, with output designed to “supply Dow with a 100 percent recycled feedstock.”

The United Kingdom also has a considerable surplus of old corrugated containers and other recovered paper grades, with mills on continental Europe (including Spain and the Netherlands) as among those who receive scrap paper via containership.

PD Ports says that with an anticipated 70 percent growth in container volumes predicted by 2029 at its facility, it will continue to “make significant investments” in its infrastructure and technology at Teesport to meet market demand.

“Teesport being known as an important and efficient short-sea hub for the Midlands and Scotland is a great addition to our new service serving customers from and to Iberia,” says Peter Andrews, a commercial director at Ellerman City Liners. “With a new direct link from Cadiz and Portugal into Teesport and back, we are closing a missing link.”