The Port of Immingham on Humberside has welcomed its largest ever vessel. Associated British Ports (ABP) reports that the Maran Lupus, a crude oil tanker measuring 333 metres in length and 60 metres in breadth, visited the Immingham Oil Terminal in February. The ship’s captain was presented with a port plaque by the Head of Marine, Paul Bristowe.
The Maran Lupus was escorted by five tugs and two Humber Marine pilots. Previously, the largest vessel to visit the port was the MV Olympic Legacy in 2003, which measured 332 metres in length and 58 metres in breadth. This equates to about double the size of a standard passenger vessel.
Simon Bird, Director of the Humber ports said: “We have made history bringing the largest vessel the Humber has ever seen.”
He added: “It is testament to the tremendous skill of everyone in ABP’s Marine Department as well as the fantastic facilities we have in the Humber Ports that we can support vessels of this kind which play a vital role in supporting the national infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, the ABP has launched a strategy for Energy Transition Growth and sustainability, which is known as Ready for Tomorrow (RFT), Port News reports. The organisation aims to invest around £2bn in decarbonising its operations to achieve Net Zero targets by 2040. The scheme will also encompass external partners in the UK and beyond.
As part of the plans, ABI will focus on developing existing offshore wind manufacturing hubs in the Humber and East Anglia regions. This will include creating more carbon capture and storage facilities, and the development of alternative green fuels such as hydrogen.
Henrik L. Pedersen, ABP’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Climate change is an era-defining challenge, but it is also an opportunity to scale innovative new industries to leave an optimistic legacy for generations to come.”
He added: “ABP is ready for tomorrow. We are committed to working together with industry partners and authorities to turn this generational crisis into a generational opportunity: to create a decarbonised, dramatically more sustainable future and deliver the significant investment, economic growth and thousands of new, good jobs that should come with it.”
Other areas of focus will include improving the air quality around ports, increasing biodiversity, and upgrading waste and water management systems.
Maritime Minister Baroness Vere, said: “The UK is a pioneer in cutting-edge clean maritime solutions, with hundreds of millions of pounds of government funding being invested in developing greener, cleaner vessels and infrastructure.
“However, it’s vital that industry also invests in our future, and I’m therefore very pleased to see Associated British Ports doing just that, ensuring we’re Ready for Tomorrow and injecting billions into decarbonising our maritime sector.”
ABP is the UK’s largest port operator and this investment will have a significant impact on the wider infrastructure and economy of major port areas, including Humberside, south Wales, the Solent, and East Anglia. ABP will also be working in partnership with the UK government to help develop effective and consistent policies.
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