News

EXPANDED CAPACITY IN ANOTHER BUSY YEAR AT ABERDEEN HARBOUR

Aberdeen Harbour's capacity to handle increasing traffic has been further expanded, with the availability of a new facility coinciding with further confirmation of another busy year at the port.

Following on record activity in 2006, cargo handled in the first nine months of 2007 held steady at 3.8 million tonnes, while the tonnage of shipping increased again to 17.9 million tonnes, up from 17.7 million tonnes in the same period last year.

The tonnage of vessels reflects the continuing trend in larger ships using the port where the number of arrivals fell slightly to 6,372 (January-September 2006 - 6,422).

The wide range of cargoes saw imports of woodpulp increase by almost 40,000 tonnes to around 110,000 tonnes, while shipments of fishfeed to Orkney, Shetland and Norway showed healthy growth. With the number of shellfish vessels using the port up from 327 to 522, there was a substantial increase in landings to 1,654 tonnes.

The harbour's role as centre of activity for the offshore oil and gas industry included a continuing increase in the use of Aberdeen as a hub port for the export of equipment to destinations such as West Africa.

Harbour Engineering Director, Ken Reilly, commented: "The sustained level of traffic underlines the importance of the latest and future projects in providing room for more shipments by both current and future port users."

The latest development by Aberdeen Harbour Board has created 20,000 square metres of surfaced back-up area at Point Law Peninsula, at a cost of £2.5 million, to support operations at neighbouring quays. These include Albert Quay West which was reconstructed and deepened last year in a £4.75 million project to provide more common-user berths.

Developing the back-up area saw thousands of tonnes of concrete from demolished buildings crushed and recycled for use as sub base materials.

Now in operation, the multi-user facility will be used principally by the offshore industry, for the marshalling and storage of a range of cargoes and equipment.

Work is well underway to create a further area, extending to 16,000 square metres, at Waterloo Quay at a cost of more than £4 million and due to be operational next year.