WARRENPOINT PORT POSTS SOLID ANNUAL RESULTS

Warrenpoint Port is the second largest Port in Northern Ireland by tonnage. Equidistant from Dublin and Belfast, it is approximately one hour by road from both cities. It has delivered solid 2022 annual results, despite the many geopolitical and economic challenges, and remains optimistic about the future. Export and Freight has been speaking to CEO David Holmes, about current trade and plans for the future.

He tells us: “Warrenpoint Port has traditionally been a ‘go-to’ import/export location for the bouyant local manufacturing, construction and agri sectors within its hinterland, north and south. It offers a convenient, easy to reach alternative to navigating the city centre traffic in the two principle cities on the island. With covered and uncovered storage capacity, multimodal capability, as well as additional access to nearby remote storage options, it enjoys a good mix of longterm clients availing of the convenient location, the experienced team, and the competitive rates.

Roro

“Warrenpoint Port is well serviced from a RoRo perspective with twice daily sailings to and from Heysham via Seatruck, now part of the CLdN family. This service is particularly popular offering the highly efficient ‘unaccompanied load’ facility. Seatruck has the capacity for large loads as well as trailers, with regular cargo including airplane wings and quarrying/crushing machinery.

Lolo Service

“Until recently Warrenpoint Port had a client delivering a twice weekly LoLo service to GB. Due to a reorganisation of their business model and constraints in their respective industry, this service was withdrawn. Warrenpoint Port believes there is capacity and demand for a replacement or similar service to UK or mainland Europe. It will be actively pursuing this opportunity during 2023/24.

“In terms of recent activity, on the back of an exceptional 2021/22, the Port has been experiencing a normalisation of volumes in

2023 to at, or around, prepandemic levels. This however, is very much dependent on external factors such as the war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures, and the outworkings of the Windsor Framework.

Cruise Season

“We had a very successful cruise season with four ships docking in Warrenpoint over the summer. This included three passenger cruise ships- the return of the Azamara Pursuit and inaugural visits for the World Traveller and Le Champlain. We also welcomed the Waverley, the world’s last seafaring paddle steamer. This gave people the opportunity to board a ship from Warrenpoint and enjoy a sunset cruise. This sold out within 24 hours and welcomed almost 600 people on board in total.

Tandem Lift

“Despite the challenges Warrenpoint Port has had a very positive first half of 2023. Some of this is driven by our expert capability in project cargo.Recent examples include: a tandem lift of a 144 tonne piece of equipment destined for the advanced manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland; and our handling of specialist cargo including wind turbine components destined for ROI.

Local Community

“The Port is engaged in the local community, hosting regular events, meetings, collaborations and updates. The team completed the distribution of its annual community fundraiser campaign in the early part of this year. This distributed £26,700 to more than 60 different local organisations in the community, with a focus on health and wellbeing. With an average donation of £500 this gave the Port the ability to support local charities, Men’s Sheds, Community Gardening Projects, Women’s Groups, schools and activities at youth clubs, nurseries, sports groups and activities for older members of our society. It is something the Port is very proud of.

Investment

“In terms of plans for the future, the Port has ambitious growth plans, with new and existing customers. It is working on its environmental impact, seeking to make reductions to its carbon footprint and locally spear-heading best practice. “It is investing in its team through its Port Life health and wellbeing initiatives and its plant; with, for example, the arrival of three new side lifting Combilifts. These forklifts are not only more efficient but support the Port’s unwavering commitment to continuous improvement in health and safety by reducing the number of loads carried at height. We continue to build upon our pelagic fishing industry offering. A recent survey of fishing companies currently using the Port facilities highlighted that 100% of these companies are likely to return to Warrenpoint Port to utilise its services again, which is a good foundation to build upon.

“Efficiency is also key. We track effective vessel turnaround and year to date figures consistently favourably outperform shipping agent expectation.

The Future

“Warrenpoint Port is working towards the future, it is very much open for business and looks forward to engaging with customers about new business opportunities. We are optimistic but realistic about the future ahead for an island economy where shipping and fishing are not only essential; but the lifeblood of many of the local communities in which we serve.”

• Ready to discuss your new logistic requirements

• Equidistant between Belfast and Dublin

• Multi-modal facility

• Competitive rates www.warrenpointport.com