22.11.2013
Port of Tilbury Handles its Largest Cargo Vessel
The largest cargo vessel ever to call at the Port of Tilbury docked at the end of October 2013. The MV Koutalianos arrived to collect its vast tonnage of barley destined for Saudi Arabia. She will be carrying 50,000 tonnes of barley, sourced in the South of England, on to France and then finally to Saudi to be used for animal feed. This massive shipment comes as part of the contract the Port of Tilbury has with Glencore Grain UK Ltd.
Weighing in at 93,000 tonnes and measuring 230m in length – the size of two football pitches laid end-to-end – the MV Koutalianos is the largest vessel in deadweight terms that Tilbury has ever handled. With a deck area of around two acres (8,500m2), the MV Koutalianos will carry the harvest from over 15,000 acres (6,300 hectares) of UK farmland.
The post-panamax sized vessel, with a beam of 37m, required careful planning to ensure her safe arrival into Tilbury. However the port, which is ideally positioned for grain trade, are specialists in handling sensitive grain cargoes, with a storage capacity of 120,000 metric tonnes and over 200 separate silos for product segregation.
Perry Glading, Chief Operating Officer of Forth Ports (owners of the Port of Tilbury) said: “We are excited about the arrival of this massive ship into Tilbury. The Koutalianos has presented us with interesting manoeuvring challenges that we have not previously encountered at the grain terminal. However, the dedicated work of our grain and bulks team has ensured the successful delivery of 50,000 tonnes of barley – from the largest vessel we have handled to date. We feel that safe delivery of this shipment secures Tilbury’s position as the main deep water port in the South East of the UK.”
Nick Oakhill of Glencore Grain UK Ltd said: “This shipment destined for Saudi Arabia, continues what has been a great start to the UK barley export market. Following the increased area of spring barley grown over the past season, and better than expected yields at harvest, the UK has a significant exportable surplus this year.
“With cumulative shipments from Tilbury of over 100,000 tonnes of export barley sales already this season, the trade has been crucial in securing a market for UK grain. The capacity of Tilbury to deal with such large grain consignments has been instrumental in achieving the shipment, and in completing the delivery quickly and efficiently.”
25th October 2013
-Ends-
For further information/images:
Rachel Gordon, Spreng & Co
0141 548 5191
[email protected]
Notes to editors:
Forth Ports and The Port of Tilbury (www.forthports.co.uk)
The Port of Tilbury is London’s major port providing fast, modern distribution services for the
benefit of the south east of England.
Tilbury’s strategic position on the Thames provides a major geographical advantage for transport to and out of London and the South?East making its location a natural point for distribution. Serving the UK’s market for forest products, general cargo, vehicles, grain and other bulks, the port offers customers excellent transport links to and from the capital and across the South East.
The Port is a significant distribution centre, covering over 850 acres and is well positioned to access the M25 orbital motorway and the rest of the UK's national motorway network. In addition, there are direct rail connections within the Port, with access to the whole of the UK.
The Port offers:
• 34 operational Berths
• Over 16 independent working terminals
• Over 7.5 kilometres of quay
• Over 500,000 square metres of warehouse space
• Over 7 km of road within port estate with excellent transport access
• London’s only Cruise Ship Terminal.
The Port is now recognised as Britain’s Greenest Port and has recently been nominated for a number of awards for the outstanding environmental initiatives which have been delivered over the past few years. The Port has also constructed four wind turbines, which are now fully operational and provide 50% of the Ports’ power.
Forth Ports Limited operates eight ports - Dundee on the River Tay, Tilbury on the Thames and six ports on the Firth of Forth - Leith, Grangemouth, Kirkcaldy, Methil, Burntisland and Rosyth. The Group also has significant property interests as well as a renewable energy division which is looking to gain planning approval for onshore wind installations and biomass facilities in its ports in Scotland. The Group’s property division is involved in the long-term development and regeneration of waterfront sites within its ownership to promote a series of integrated communities.
About Glencore (www.glencore.com)
Glencore International plc is one of the world’s leading integrated producers and marketers of commodities, headquartered in Baar, Switzerland, and listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges. Glencore has worldwide activities in the production, sourcing, processing, refining, transporting, storage, financing and supply of Metals and Minerals, Energy Products and Agricultural Products.
