Performed by Mike Penning MP, Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the ceremony will be attended by a range of rail freight and local dignitaries, as well as representatives of Volker Fitzpatrick, the contractors for the development.

The new rail terminal will be the third at the UK’s largest container port and is the first in the UK designed to handle 30-wagon long freight trains, capable of carrying 90 TEU (twenty foot equivalent containers).  It will be equipped initially with 3 Rail Mounted Gantry cranes (RMGs) built by Liebherr, increasing to 6 RMGs when the terminal is working at full capacity.

Clemence Cheng, Managing Director of HPH Central Europe, in welcoming Mike Penning, said:

“This new rail facility is part of the port’s on-going programme of expansion which will further consolidate our position as the leading gateway in the UK for deep-sea container traffic.  We already move 750,000 TEU per year by rail and the new terminal will eventually more than double our capacity for intermodal traffic.”

Commenting on the new development, Mike Penning MP said:

“This is a very welcome investment by Hutchison Ports in an important sector. 

 “It shows that rail freight continues to thrive with private sector investment through difficult economic conditions, bringing benefits to road users and the wider population as well as the customers directly served.

 “Along with inland rail improvements, this investment will help to confirm the UK’s attractiveness for direct calls by the biggest container ships for many years to come, benefitting the local, regional and national economies.”

David Gledhill, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd, which owns the Port of Felixstowe, said:

“One of the advantages that Felixstowe has over its rivals is that we can already offer shippers and shipping companies much greater choice of destination and frequency of rail freight services than any other port in the country. We currently have 58 train movements a day into the port.  These are operated by three of the country’s major Railfreight operators, and connect the port with 17 different inland terminals.  The new terminal will provide users with even more choice and allow them to achieve greater carbon savings throughout the supply chain.”

The scheme, which is receiving a £4.2m European grant from the Trans-European Transport Network Programme (TEN-T), follows the successful opening of the first phase of the port’s latest expansion last autumn. The two new deep-water berths, Berths 8&9, have significantly increased the port’s capacity to handle the world’s largest container ships.

Referring to the environmental advantages of the new developments, David Gledhill added:

“What many people fail to grasp is that scale is actually very good for the environment.  Felixstowe is the only port in the UK able to accommodate the next generation of container ships. These ships will have 50% less emissions than the Asia-Europe average, and the new North Rail Terminal will allow enable us to handle longer and more efficient freight trains.

“The scale of our operations at Felixstowe, which will eventually increase to 8 million TEU per annum with the addition of Bathside Bay, also provides the critical mass to support a wide range of coastal feeder services. Taken as a whole, the range of benefits open to HPUK customers is absolutely unique.”

The Port of Felixstowe currently operates 29 daily services to 17 inland destinations including Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Cleveland, Birmingham, Doncaster, Tilbury, Selby, Hams Hall, Wakefield, Ditton (Widnes), Birch Coppice, Scunthorpe and Bristol.

Net profit declined to EUR 254 million (2010: EUR 311 million), though it should be noted that the 2010 result included exceptional pre-tax gains of EUR 33.6 million. In spite of the decline in net profit Boskalis proposes to maintain the dividend at EUR 1.24 per share.

Due to the increased uncertainties in the international markets there is continued hesitance amongst clients with regard to investment decisions, and this is putting pressure on both margins and equipment utilization levels. As a result EBITDA declined to EUR 591 million (2010: EUR 622 million) and the operating result (EBIT) to EUR 354 million (2010: EUR 402 million). The lower result in the core segment Dredging & Earthmoving was positively impacted by the financial settlement from previously completed projects. The remaining activities realized a stable or slightly higher operating result, partly as a result of the full consolidation of SMIT.

The order book increased to EUR 3,489 million as per end-2011 (end-2010: EUR 3,248 million). Compared to the 2011 mid-year level and adjusted for consolidation and deconsolidation effects, the order book was slightly higher at the end of the year.

Peter Berdowski, CEO Boskalis:

“We look back on a turbulent year, with continued pressure on margins and volume. To keep the vessels utilized requires more effort and tendering for new projects has become more competitive.

Despite the challenging market conditions we once again ended the year strong, posting record revenue and a fine result. We were aided in this by the quality of the order book and the favorable settlement of projects.

In addition we were able to make important strides in strengthening and expanding the company within the framework of our strategic plan. The activities of SMIT Terminals were merged with Lamnalco, creating a global market leader in Terminal Services. At the end of the year we completed the acquisition of MNO Vervat, thus considerably strengthening our national and international position in the infra market. We made important progress with harbor towage, in the global consolidation process we aim for, with the acquisition of Rebras in Brazil as well as the agreement in principle that we reached with SAAM regarding the combination of our Latin American towage activities.

Market conditions are expected to remain challenging in 2012. The medium term presents a mixed picture for the markets in which we operate. On the one hand we see – especially in Europe – continued reservations about investing on the part of governments. On the other hand we are positive with regard to the market developments in South America, West Africa and Australasia. We feel particularly positive about the offshore market, where we expect a great deal of work as from 2013. We will be able to benefit from this thanks to our broadened market positioning with activities such as Terminals, Transport, Heavy Lift and Subsea.”

“We want to be more of a resource partner with intelligent solutions rather than just a vendor. So we’ve beefed up our client teams with people who have held senior positions in the liner and logistics business. Thirteen out of our twenty largest customers are based in Asia so it was important to establish a sales office in this vibrant region and Hong Kong – one of the world’s key business centers was chosen as the ideal location to cover the key Asian locations” stated Martin Gaard Christiansen, Chief Commercial Officer and a former CEO of the Asia Pacific region for APM Terminals with 17 years experience in Asia.

A team of dedicated Key Client Managers will be based in the office to serve customers based in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan. “Partnerships between shippers, carriers and terminal operators will be the key to unlock shared value and eliminate waste in the supply chain; and to achieve that the parties need to have trusting relationships, which are built by being close to each other” said Mr. Christiansen. 

Through the new Hong Kong office, APM Terminals’ will bring its Global Terminal and Inland Logistics Network even closer to its Asian customers to identify opportunities for servicing their global activities.  “The customers have to be at the center of what we do and the solutions we deliver. APM Terminals wants to be recognized for having a customer centric business approach and through the new Hong Kong office we can continue expanding this with our Asia-based customers” added Christiansen.

Photo:  Martin Gaard Christiansen, Chief Commercial Officer, APM Terminals, The Hague, Netherlands

It is the third consecutive year that the PD Ports Group, which includes PD Logistics, has picked up an ASDA Carrier award but the first time it has received the overall prize.  The award is not open for entries but is given by ASDA to the most outstanding supplier in the retailer’s supply chain based on performance and excellence in service.

ASDA launched the awards three years ago to help it continue to raise standards amongst its logistics suppliers. Alex Linton, Senior Supply Chain Manager, Global Logistics, ASDA, said: “The award is well deserved by the whole team at PD Ports. It is to recognise the effort that the whole team puts in to supporting our business. They really demonstrate a partnership approach, delivering solutions when we need them.

“Please pass on my thanks to all those in the business that work with the ASDA team day in day out – it really is appreciated.”

The award was presented by ASDA’s Supply Chain Director, Gavin Chappell. PD Ports’ Key Accounts Manager, Kim Catterick, who picked up the award at the Queens Hotel in Leeds on Friday 9 March, said: “This is such an outstanding honour.

“All the other prizes handed out at the ceremony were based on written submissions but to be recognised by ASDA for our performance throughout the year without having to put together an entry is an even greater distinction.

“We pride ourselves on the wide range of services that PD Ports supply to ASDA, from our container terminal at Teesport, Logical Link – the shipping service we provide between Felixstowe and Teesport, and our logistics services, right through to our portcentric business model.”

In awarding the prize to the PD Ports Group, ASDA had taken into consideration the fact that its Teesport terminal had undergone a major upgrade and capacity increase programme last year but despite this, the retailer had not been subjected to any service failures or disruptions.

It was also impressed by the cross docking/re-working services offered at the Group’s warehouse facilities in Billingham and Felixstowe, the exemplary shunting service between the port and the ASDA warehouse at Teesport, and the excellent road haulage services.