The investment includes:
Four new Tugmaster vehicles – to accommodate the increase in volume and to modernise the existing fleet.
Resurfacing of the freight park – with ongoing maintenance and improvements to the facilities there.
Heysham Port’s general manager Bryan Davies said: “We have seen a steady increase in our unit volumes over the last 18 months, however the growth in the last six months has been at an escalated rate. We are confident of further growth for the remainder of 2011 and have invested heavily in our infrastructure to accommodate this.”
Heysham Port in Lancashire is one of Britain’s leading gateways to the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Figures released by the Department for Transport show that in the first half of 2011 Heysham Port handled more than 225,000 units, a 45,000 unit rise compared with the same period in 2010.
The growth in volume is particularly significant given the challenging market and Ireland’s financial difficulties.
The introduction of a new Seatruck Larne service, which in its first 12 months of operation has increased to a twice daily service, has contributed significantly to the Port’s growth. It is anticipated that this service will handle 50,000 units this financial year.
Peel Ports head of planning Warren Marshall said: “The increase in port traffic and the importance of Heysham as a hub port to Ireland (connections with Belfast, Dublin, Warrenpoint and Larne) and the Isle of Man only highlight the demand for the Heysham – M6 link road. In this respect we continue to work in close collaboration with Lancashire County Council, the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, and the Constituency MPs to secure this much needed and long overdue piece of infrastructure.”