Container business booming as new service is set to ship 30,000 a year

Container business in the Humber is booming with a 23% increase in activity over the last year – to which a new service of three sailings a week between Belgium and Hull has been announced,  bringing more than 30,000 containers through the port annually.

The additional Ghent to Hull services follows on from a £50m investment in the Humber Container Terminals last year.

New Ghent based I-Motion Shipping will begin the service on Monday 28 May arriving on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at the Hull Container Terminal. The 100 metre MV Cartagena will be the first to call at the Port of Hull, which is operated by Associated British Ports.

Container business on the Humber is booming with an increase of 23% in the last year. In April, The Port of Hull welcomed two ship-to-shore £10.5m cranes. This enabled the terminal to handle double the capacity of containers –  400,000 per year.

ABP Humber Ports director, Simon Bird, said: “Today’s announcement is a further vote of confidence in our Humber Ports. In 2017 ABP took the decision to invest £50 million in our container terminals in the Humber which influenced I-Motion’s decision to come to Hull Container Terminal. This new business arrives on the back of the new additional sailings between Amsterdam and Hull that was announced earlier in the year.”
Christopher Vause, ABP Humber commercial manager, added: “I-Motion’s new container service demonstrates there is a clear market demand for more short sea connectivity from Belgium to Hull and our recent investments ensure we are well positioned to deal with this growing demand.”
Filip Slock, Managing Director of I-MOTION Shipping, said: “We are supporting our intermodal customers by ensuring they’re primarily located to suitable markets. Interface Terminal Ghent offers a unique and streamlined service to ensure cargo flows efficiently.”

ABP’s four ports on the Humber (Grimsby, Goole, Immingham and Hull) handle around 17% of all of the UK’s seaborne trade. Every year the ports handle £75bn worth of trade – more than the Mersey, Tyne and Tees combined.