Approved freight ferry terminal to create hundreds of jobs

The recently approved Immingham Eastern Ro-Ro Terminal (IERRT) will create around 700 jobs during its construction phase then about 200 permanent jobs once fully operational.

The £200m joint investment by Associated British Ports (ABP) and Stena Line in the new freight ferry terminal at Immingham, was featured at this week’s Government’s showcase International Investment Summit.

A development consent order for the facility was granted last week.

And the employment boost which the terminal will generate has been confirmed by Simon Bird, regional director of the Humber ports.

Bird said: “This is fantastic news for the Humber and the UK more generally. The IERRT development significantly increases the Port of Immingham’s capability and capacity for handling unaccompanied freight units across the North Sea.

“This additional capacity is required to meet the identified growing commercial demand while at the same time strengthening the Humber Estuary’s contribution to an effective, efficient, competitive and resilient UK Ro-Ro freight sector.

“IERRT also responds to the trend for larger RoRo vessels, requiring larger port infrastructure and landside space.”

Henrik L Pedersen, CEO of Associated British Ports (ABP), said: “We are pleased that the Development Consent Order (DCO) for the Immingham Eastern Ro-Ro Terminal (IERRT) has been granted.

“This approval marks a significant milestone in our mission to Keep Britain Trading through enhancing the UK’s logistics infrastructure and bolstering trade capacity across the North Sea.

“The IERRT project is a key component of our strategy to strengthen the UK’s supply chains and improve trade connectivity, whilst also bringing substantial economic benefits including the creation of hundreds of jobs during construction and ongoing operations.

“We are confident that, with the necessary adjustments, we can proceed on schedule to begin construction in 2025 and complete the project by 2026.”

Niclas Mårtensson, CEO of Stena Line, added: “We are very pleased that the Secretary of State has approved the new RoRo terminal at the Port of Immingham.

“The port is of great strategic importance to Stena Line and we’re looking forward to building on the success we have seen in the unaccompanied freight market.

“This is a long-term commitment for us and will be integral to expanding our freight operations on our routes between the UK and Continental Europe to serve demand.”