August 31 - Associated British Ports' (ABP) Port of Hull has recently signed a new ten-year agreement with TransAtlantic UK Ltd, which operates up to three sailings a week linking the Humber with Sweden, for a new bespoke ten-acre terminal in Hull.

As a result of the expansion of TransAtlantic's operations, this new agreement will see ABP invest GBP3.5 million (USD5.6 million) in a 8,500 sq m warehouse in King George Dock. The investment also includes the refurbishment of existing storage capacity and railway sidings and will incorporate humidity controls for the storage of steel coils within the new warehouse.

The services operated by TransAtlantic have been calling at ABP's Port of Goole since the early 1990s and now handle in the region of 400,000 tonnes a year. The move to Hull is to accommodate increasing volumes of trade which will also require the relocation of two mobile harbour cranes.

Matt Jukes, ABP port director Hull & Goole, said: "After many successful years of operating at Goole, we are delighted to respond to TransAtlantic's expansion plans through the investment at King George Dock, which further strengthens Hull's role in Scandinavian trade."

Nick Green, managing director, TransAtlantic UK Ltd, said: "This new, modern terminal in Hull gives us operational advantages, which will result in improved service to our clients."

Matt Jukes added: "Although TransAtlantic is leaving Goole, ABP is now actively marketing its former terminal and we are in discussions with a number of companies which see Goole, the UK's most inland port, as an exciting opportunity for new trade development."

TransAtlantic UK Ltd is part of the Swedish company Rederi AB TransAtlantic, which provides container shipping operations between Sweden and the UK, ro-ro and container shipping operations in the Baltic Sea as well as ro-ro operations across the Atlantic and along the east coast of the USA. Various shipping lines within Rederi AB TransAtlantic have the capability to handle most types of rolling cargoes including trucks, trailers, heavy duty machinery, mining equipment, and so forth. For general cargo, a fleet of cassettes and roll-trailers with various measurements and capacities are available.

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