MAIDEN VOYAGE OF NEW VESSEL IS CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF BOOST IN ABP IPSWICH’S DRY-BULK TRADE
Associated British Ports’ (ABP) Port of Ipswich’s dry-bulk trade has recently received a significant boost following the arrival of the 2,875-tonne m.v. Cemsky. The newly refurbished vessel made Ipswich its first port of call on its maiden voyage for Southern Cement Ltd (‘Southern Cement’), delivering 4,000 tonnes of bulk cement to the port’s Cliff Quay Terminal. She is now the largest of the six vessels to serve Southern Cement’s weekly dry-bulk import trade through ABP Ipswich and has been introduced to meet the upsurge in throughput.
Refitted in Poland, the £5 million m.v. Cemsky was converted by its Hamburg-based owners from an ordinary coaster to a specialised cement carrier at a cost of £1.5 million. In 2002, Southern Cement opened a £2.4 million terminal at ABP Ipswich to handle imports of bulk cement. Since becoming operational, annual import volumes have grown to 150,000 tonnes. Southern Cement now estimates that import tonnages will increase in 2005 to over 200,000 tonnes through ABP Ipswich.
Southern Cement’s General Manager, Barry Neale, said:
“The support we have received from our landlords, ABP, has been both faultless and value-adding. From their agency service to their commercial terms, ABP has provided us with a strong infrastructure with which to develop, and one that has seen us become an integral part of the construction-material supply chain in south east England. We look forward to cooperating on future projects.”
Rob Smith, ABP Port Manager for Ipswich, King’s Lynn and Lowestoft, welcomed the arrival of m.v. Cemsky and the upturn in trade.
“Our relationship with Southern Cement is an excellent example of how ABP works with its customers to develop their business. Since the opening of Southern Cement’s terminal at the Port of Ipswich in 2002, they’ve met all of their growth targets - a great achievement of which they can feel proud.”
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