During Mr Hammond’s last visit in January 2013, the port had only just started to install the first of its yard cranes. Since opening in November 2013, DP World London Gateway has seen a continued increase in ship traffic and is due to see a new West Africa service start in a few weeks.

During the winter, DP World London Gateway accepted a number of unplanned calls by ships that were not able to call at their intended UK port due to bad weather and port congestion.

Mr Hammond toured DP World London Gateway, which opened its second of six berths in May and learnt about two large distribution centre buildings, the Common User Facility and the Prologis development, that are about to start construction in the London Gateway Logistics Park.

The Minister, who has responsibility for shipping, ports and rail greeted some of the 400 team members now working across a number of departments including terminal operatives, health and safety, engineering apprentices, IT, planners and administrators, to congratulate them on their hard work that has led to the successful launch of the UK’s first major port in 30 years.

Stephen Hammond MP, said: “DP World London Gateway is an important piece of national infrastructure connecting the UK to international markets, with deep-sea, rail and road connectivity”. 

“I want to congratulate the DP World London Gateway team for their remarkable success in taking a brownfield site and turning it into a world-class state of the art deep-sea container terminal and logistics park.”

Simon Moore DP World London Gateway CEO said: “We are delighted to have Mr Hammond visit the team today and will continue to work with Government to ensure DP World London Gateway continues to be a world-class asset for the UK.” 

The cars, trucks and people carriers formed a convoy that will be used during the Yorkshire stages of the world’s most famous bicycle race and all made their way to God’s Own Country via P&O Ferries’ Zeebrugge and Rotterdam services. 

The cars contained vital spares and catering equipment, as well as some of the race officials.

Also along for the ride was Cyrille Tricart, Head of Operations for the Tour de France, who met with civic dignitaries including the Lord Mayor of Hull and Admiral of the Humber Councillor Mary Glew, and Councillor Jane Evison, Portfolio Holder for Economic Investment and Inequalities at East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Cllr Glew was delighted to welcome the convoy to the city and even brought the now-famous City of Culture bicycle along to meet some of the more serious cyclists.

She said: “I’m so proud to be able to offer a warm welcome to the Tour de France, and I’m equally proud that Hull is the first Yorkshire city to welcome a contingent of Tour de France vehicles and officials.”

Above: Some of the Tour de France race officials with Lord Mayor of Hull Cllr Mary Glew, Cyrille Tricart, Head of Operations for the Tour de France, Cllr Jane Evison of East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Andy Holmes of P&O (image courtesy of ABP/David Lee Photography)

The West Africa service supports the import of goods like canned fish, timber, bananas, vegetables and other foodstuffs and the export of chemicals, white goods, malt, fish and meat from the UK.

DP World London Gateway port commercial manager, Tabare Dominguez, said: “We are pleased to announce the start of the West Africa service at DP World London Gateway operated by MOL and Hapag Lloyd starting in July.

“The decision to bring the service to DP World London Gateway by existing customers Hapag Lloyd and MOL, demonstrates confidence in DP World London Gateway’s ability to deliver a reliable efficient service and their desire to grow their business at the port.”

The West Africa service will make calls in Antwerp, Hamburg, DP World London Gateway, Algeciras, Dakar, Lagos / Apapa, Tema, Abidjan, Algeciras and Antwerp.

DP World London Gateway opened in November 2014, with the South Africa Europe Service operated by MOL, Maersk, Safmarine and DAL.

In addition, DP World London Gateway now has a South America East Coast and West Coast service operated by Hamburg Sud, Hapag Lloyd and CMA CGM, an India Pakistan service operated by Hamburg Sud and Hapag Lloyd, a North America East Coast and West Coast service operated by the G6 Alliance (APL, HMM, MOL, Hapag Lloyd, NYK, & OOCL) and a ICX service with calls to Dublin and Rotterdam operated by Xpress Feeders.

In addition to the growth of port services, London Gateway Logistics Park is under development with Buckingham Group about to break ground on the Common User Facility site. Prologis, the world’s largest developer of industrial property, also recently announced the development of a 316,000 sq ft distribution centre at London Gateway Logistics Park on a speculative basis.

The simulator complex will be one of the most advanced in the Black Sea region.

The full mission Transas offshore simulator with 270 degrees visualisation is based on the Transas NTPRO 5000 software and will be used for training in dynamic positioning operations. The simulator will enable training of crews involved in transfer and supply of mobile offshore units. Training course will be accredited by the Nautical Institute.

Specially for the project, Transas will develop simulator areas for three ports of Georgia: Batumi, Poti and Kulevi. In addition, the simulator will use the next generation universal hardware solutions. Use of the touch screen technology together with the dedicated hardware, makes it possible to use virtually any controls on the bridge without compromising training realism.

The new Transas offshore simulator is an extenstion to the installed simulator compex in the Batumi State Maritime Academy; it will also get additional functionality to train crews in ice navigation operations.

The BSMA Vice-chancellor Irakly Sharabidze commented: “In few months we will have one of the most advanced dynamic positioning simulators which will contribute to the education of specialist in the offshore operations. Until now, in the Black Sea region this type of simulator was only available in Ukraine and Romania.”

Igor Gorobets, Director of the Transas Marine Black Sea said after the contract signing: “I’m very glad that Transas continues its cooperation with the Batumi State Maritime Academy. Combining the classical school of seafarers training in Georgia with the modern Transas simulation technologies, the Academy will provide training in accordance with the latest international standards and meet the highest demands for crew qualifications in the marine industry.”

Batumi State Maritime Academy is a government accredited state maritime academy. Specializing in higher education, the institution’s main function is to educate qualified staff for employment within the commercial fleet and maritime transport infrastructure. Batumi State Maritime Academy provides an educational process that is in accordance with the Georgian legislation as well as international conventions.