Full steam ahead for trade
Belgium business leaders including the CEO of Zeebrugge Port Authority have visited Hull to focus on trade beyond Brexit.
Joachim Coens reflected on a long history of trade links going back centuries between the two ports. The routes between Zeebrugge and ports on the English east coast have grown to rival the Dover-Calais route, with the Humber being particularly important.
The port of Zeebrugge handles 40-million tons of cargo, much of that on ro-ro ferries. In a year it serves 8,467 vessels with cargo that includes 2.8-million automotive products, 4,000 trucks and maintains 20,000 jobs – 45% of Zeebrugge’s trade is UK related, with the next largest customer being Sweden at just 10.9%.
Coen said he was “concerned” about Brexit but urged Humber business leaders to put maximum pressure on EU and UK negotiators to preserve the current free movement of trade between Europe and the UK. He added that he and his colleagues had made the same point to the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier when he visited Zeebrugge recently.
Ro-ro traffic currently accounts for 14.3 million tons of cargo, 1.3 million trucks and 2.8 million cars in an industry which has grown rapidly in recent years in both countries.
Coen also highlighted that the UK produces 1.5 million cars with 1.1 million of those being exported – one million of those vehicles going through Zeebrugge. In the opposite direction, 2.6 million vehicles are imported into the UK with many of those coming through the Humber ports of Grimsby and Immingham.
Peter Stolk, Head of Ports for P&O Ferries, said the company now carries one-million passengers a year. The route have been operating for 50 years.
They are now on their third generation of tourist ships and while the Pride of York and the Pride of Bruges are reaching the end of their service lives, those lives have been extended by five years following major refits which have just been completed and seen cabins upgraded and new shops installed. He said there has been a great emphasis on self-drive freight, and the ships offer great facilities to the drivers.
The delegation was organised by the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce and saw Hull University’s Institute of Logistics host an evening.
