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OVER AND UNDEE
Page 58
Page 59
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THE WATER
The ferry industry has had mixed fortunes in the past year; CM goes to sea for its annual update on our linKs with those overseas clients.
It's been a mixture of growth and consolidation in the ferry industry over the past year.The latest figures from the EMT (For April-June 2006) indicate that 702,000 vehicles travelled to the Continent; almost exactly the same number as the same time last ■,'ear. UK registered vehicles accounted for 25% of them; again,on a par with 2005.
However, some ferry operators have enjoyed continued growth thanks to the recent expansion of the EU.
In the past few years new members of the club such as the Czech Republic and Poland have recorded 50% increases in the amount of traffic into and out of the UK.
Ronald Daelman,freight director at P&O Ferries, says:"More Eastern European hauliers are setting up accounts with us thanks to growing business in this area, as well as the Czech Republic seeing a rise in its economy.
"This has prompted us to set up a new freight agent in this country to capture this business and handle bookings."
Ports
• There have been developments at the Port of Immingham with the opening of the DFDS Nordic Terminal Riverside at Immingham Outer Harbour.
Opened in July at a cost of £35m, it follows on from the signing of a 25-year agreement between the Association of British Ports (ABP) and the Danish RORO ferry operator DFDS.
The new facility is able to handle three vessels berthed simultaneously on the River Humber.It can also handle DFDS's latest generation of vessels and expands the ferry company's existing terminal in Immingham to 170 acres and seven RO-RO berths.
• The EmpressTerminal was opened in the Port of Southampton in May following a £4.2m investment by ABEThe multi-deck facility is intended to handle the port's deep-sea car trade.
• Plans are afoot at Dover, the world's busiest RO-RO freight port, to develop outside the Eastern Docks ferr■, terminal to cope with a huge growth in demand. In the first eight months of the year 15 million trucks passed through the port en route to Calais and Dunkerque; up 250,000 from 2005.
There are currently more than 70 ferry departures a day and little scope to provide more due to lack of manoeuvring space off the terminal's eight ferry births.
Dover Harbour Board (DHB) is working on plans for a buffer zone to assemble freight off the main A20 approach to the town at busy periods, releasing traffic to the terminal to reduce congestion.
To deal with lack of capacity DHB plans to redevelop the port's Western Docks with up to four ferry berths.