Trade between the EU and UK

Set on an estuary with naturally deep-water channels, the port of Immingham offers easy access to major trade routes and is ideal for shipping many of types of cargo. Once a major coal distribution dock, it now carries mostly consumer goods and cars, timber and steel. It’s the UK’s largest port in terms of tonnage, handling approximately 50 million tonnes of freight every year.

DFDS occupies over 700,000 m2 of Immingham port’s land, which is split into two terminals, Dockside and Riverside, where we specialise in cargo and vessel handling. Immingham is DFDS’ main gateway to the UK.

Increased capacity

In January, DFDS invested in a new 124-tonne harbour crane, increasing lift capacity by 24 tonnes at the port. Although it’s a mobile crane, it will spend most of its life stationed at DFDS Dockside. It has a high-capacity twin-lift container spreader, which enhances lift on/lift-off for all types of cargo.

In recent years, DFDS has seen a major increase in project cargo, such as wind turbine blades and building units, and in break-bulk cargo, like steel long products and coils. We needed an additional crane to be able to move heavier cargo faster. We can now load two vessels at a time, cargo no longer needs to wait, and we can keep operations moving efficiently.

Careful cargo handling

The new crane also enables more careful contact with the cargo. Using a magnet crane instead of a clamp eliminates the need for mechanical contact, which reduces the risk of damage. The team at the port has extensive experience handling a wide spectrum of cargo, including steel coil and slabs. DFDS takes great care to cause zero damage to cargo, and the new crane supports us in this.

Greater economy of scales

The deep-water channels at the port mean Immingham can take in deep-drafted vessels. DFDS can take vessels up to 10.2 metres draft – that means up to 17,000 tons of coil in one vessel. With a second crane, we are less restricted by how much cargo we can handle. So, customers can send us larger vessels and achieve a greater economy of scales.