AS the Port of Newport prepares to celebrate its proud past, we report how the docks is a thriving modern business, driving jobs, investment and growth in South Wales.
EVER since the Industrial Revolution, Newport has been one of South Wales’ great gateways to the world.
Now the coal which floated out of the Valleys down the great Monmouthshire Canal is more stream than mighty black torrent, the Port of Newport has been investing, diversifying and prospering in a broad range of cargoes.
The port sits at the heart of an unparalleled network of road and rail connections and occupies a prime location to serve the UK’s main industrial and commercial regions.
It’s a strong commercial position that vindicates the vision of its founders who funded the building of the South Dock, which today celebrates 100 years since it was completed and the South Lock, the Great Sea Lock, opened.
Lord Tredegar’s yacht ‘Liberty’ entering the lock on 14th July 1914 during the official opening
It was a landmark moment in the life of this great port, allowing shipping to enter the docks directly from the bustling Bristol Channel for the first time.
At more than 1,000ft long and 100ft wide, it was said that the lock was the largest in the world and ensured that Newport was easily able to accommodate the biggest ships then afloat.
At the time, critics said the lock was too large and ships would never be big enough to need a lock that size but, presciently, the engineer and general manager for the scheme, John McAuley, said: “Flights of imagination today will be sober facts tomorrow”.
The South Lock was officially opened on July 14, 1914, by Prince Arthur of Connaught, the son of King George V.
The special Argus supplement printed to mark the opening of Newport Dock's South Lock
Lord Tredegar’s steam yacht The Liberty became the first ship to pass through the lock, when it transported Prince Arthur to the docks during the celebrations.
Today, Newport specialises in deep-sea steel importing and is one of the UK’s leading steel-handling ports.
The port’s steel terminal provides more than 30,000 sq m of modern, covered storage for the handling of steel imports and exports, and also benefits from undercover rail-connected facilities. The port’s facilities also regularly export locally produced steel.
WE Dowds Ltd operates steel import facilities on behalf of a number of worldwide steel traders and stockholders. The terminal is at the forefront of the modern industry, offering the latest in real-time, web-based stock control and electronic data interchange links, based on a portable scanning system for vessel-tallying and warehouse deliveries.
While steel is a real strength, it’s just one of a growing number of important cargoes in what is Associated British Ports’ easternmost South Wales port. Operated as one business unit, the ABP South Wales ports of Newport, Cardiff, Barry, Port Talbot, and Swansea handle more than ten million tonnes of cargo each year.
Newport alone handles approximately 1.5 million tonnes of cargo each year across a range of cargo sectors. In total, the port today occupies a site covering some 685 acres and is vital to the local and regional economy.
Founded to ship the black gold dug by the Welsh mines, Newport today still regularly handles coal as well as petroleum coke, and coke shipments through the bulk terminal at South Dock, which is served by quayside and mobile harbour grabbing cranes which can discharge two vessels of up to 40,000 dwt, simultaneously.
The port is now a world leader in new industries, such as metals recycling.
The Sims Group currently operates a 13-hectare metals-recycling facility on the South Dock, which processes all types of metal. This facility benefited from significant investment by ABP and Sims Group and is Sims’ flagship operation. Additional investment at the site has seen the terminal expand with the opening of a state-of-the-art waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) plant, which has the capacity to process in excess of 100,000 tonnes of electrical equipment every year, making it one of the largest such facilities in the world.
Regular shipments of clay, sand and aggregates feed the construction industry and animal feed and fertiliser serve the regional agricultural sector.
The port also offers surfaced open-storage compounds for the import, export and handling of bulk materials, including pumice and wood chip.
Forest products are a real feature of Newport’s business, with Burt Boulton & Haywood Ltd manufacturing telephone and power generation poles, while International Timber and Premier Forest Products bring timber and plywood over the quayside for the UK’s construction, manufacturing and joinery industries.All types of general, project, and heavy-lift cargoes are accommodated at Newport including railway locomotives and wind turbines.
More than 30,000 sq m of multi-purpose covered transit warehousing is available within the port estate and there are large areas of open storage for non weather-sensitive cargoes.
There are a number of development sites (totalling more than 30 hectares) available at the port to meet future development opportunities and ABP is investing heavily in its future.
ABP recently unveiled plans for a £2.5m investment in refurbishing the Atlantic Shed warehouse to provide additional covered space for its growing steel and bulks business. The project takes the total for new investment by ABP in the docks at Newport to more than £10m in the past 18 months.
In recent months ABP has spent £1.1m on quay strengthening works, £1.7m on a new rail bridge and £1.6m on a Mobile Harbour Crane.
There has also been extensive investment in sustainable energy in the port, with a new £300,000 solar array and a further £3m being spent on a 125m tall, 2.3 mw wind turbine, which together will help supply a significant amount of the power required to operate the port.
Matthew Kennerley, ABP Director South Wales, said: “Right now there is a lot of focus on the port’s early days and we’re all looking forward to the celebrations. But the really compelling story here in Newport is not its history, it’s what’s happening on the quayside today and every day. It’s about how the port is growing, evolving and thriving, offering first-class facilities to help our customers develop their businesses and compete internationally.
“We wouldn’t be here today without the ambition and vision of those people who invested in the creation of the docks in Newport. Today I am proud to say that we continue to invest in the port’s future prosperity.”
All types of general, project, and heavy-lift cargoes are accommodated at Newport including railway locomotives and wind turbines.
More than 30,000 sq m of multi-purpose covered transit warehousing is available within the port estate and there are large areas of open storage for non weather-sensitive cargoes.
There are a number of development sites (totalling more than 30 hectares) available at the port to meet future development opportunities and ABP is investing heavily in its future.
ABP recently unveiled plans for a £2.5m investment in refurbishing the Atlantic Shed warehouse to provide additional covered space for its growing steel and bulks business. The project takes the total for new investment by ABP in the docks at Newport to more than £10m in the past 18 months.
In recent months ABP has spent £1.1m on quay strengthening works, £1.7m on a new rail bridge and £1.6m on a Mobile Harbour Crane.
There has also been extensive investment in sustainable energy in the port, with a new £300,000 solar array and a further £3m being spent on a 125m tall, 2.3 mw wind turbine, which together will help supply a significant amount of the power required to operate the port.
Matthew Kennerley, ABP Director South Wales, said: “Right now there is a lot of focus on the port’s early days and we’re all looking forward to the celebrations. But the really compelling story here in Newport is not its history, it’s what’s happening on the quayside today and every day. It’s about how the port is growing, evolving and thriving, offering first-class facilities to help our customers develop their businesses and compete internationally.
“We wouldn’t be here today without the ambition and vision of those people who invested in the creation of the docks in Newport. Today I am proud to say that we continue to invest in the port’s future prosperity.”
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