8/14/2019 Water freight fights back
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Water freight
fightsbackGrain and other agricultur-al products were
tradition-ally moved along thecanals and rivers by barge andaround
the coast of the UK andto / from northwest Europe byship. The
advent of motorwaysand bigger lorries combined withinefficient port
practices lead torapid decline of the inland shippingroutes and
coastal trading although
imports / exports to and fromEurope generally continued.
Before the economic downturn last year
there was a noticeable resurgence of interest
in the use of water freight and the initiative
was swinging back. However a surplus of
bulk haul lorries following industrial collapse
in the second half of last year resulted in
predatory pricing and the cost benefit swung
back to road.
However there is no
doubt that water will
play an increasing rolein the future. The envi-
ronmental arguments
are convincing and the
public will benefit from
less road congestion.
There are adequate ships
available although there
is a shortage of barges
due to lack of investment
over the past twenty
years but this can be
addressed. Moving grain
by water reduces carbon
(and other emissions) on
average by eighty percent when compared
to road. When millers and others analyse
their carbon footprint we expect a significant
return to water freight. The benefits are
convincing.
There are just over one hundred ports
around the UK, all capable of handling grain.
Smaller wharves along rivers and canals
are serviced by ships some of which have
self-load and self-discharge capability, cargo
can also be transferred from one ship to
another. An interesting example took place
at Falmouth recently whereby 17000 tonnes
of animal feed were transferred direct froma big importing ship
(originating in Asia and
having discharged 25000 tonnes in Europe
en route) onward to five UK river and canal
based wharves by coaster.
Traditional ports remain active handling
considerable milling wheat and barley ship-
ments including exports from the Wash
ports, the south coast ports of Southampton
and Poole and others such as Avonmouth,
Sharpness, Liverpool and Tilbury.
Considerable volumes of feed wheat
also go by water to Ireland and France.
Some of the shipments are coastal.
Examples being rapeseed from Scotland
by Tim Lowry, Chairman, Freight byWater, w
ww.freightbywater.org
There is no doubt that water
will play an increasing role in
the future. The environmental
arguments are convincing
and the public will benefit
from less road congestion
Gain&fd illinG thnlGy18 | november-december 2009
FeatureWater freight
to Erith in the Thames. One of the by
products is meal which is shipped to
northern France for animal feed. The
mill at Erith is an example of the ben-
efits of siting plant adjacent to water. It
can handle both import and exports and
reduce the carbon footprint of its prod-
ucts substantially. An example of cargo
that has switched from road to water
is linseed from the south coast. One
of the members of Freight by Water
recently shipped 1200 tonnes of linseedfrom a small river berth
on the south
coast of England via canal to an inland
destination in Belgium. Traditionally it
moved by road. Specialist grain and
grain products are also imported by
water. Birdseed transhipped in Holland
from Africa arrives at our east cost ports,
so does rice from Houston and we are
seeing a growing demand for organic
products including animal feed.
With the growing emphasis on sustain-
able energy, one new product to benefit
from water freight is wheat feed (pelletised
husks). At least ten new biofuel power
plants are being constructed in the UK
some of which are designed to consume
wheat feed pellets. Some will come by
road but the mode shift to water will
increase as volumes increase. An example
being the Tate and Lyle plant at Silvertown
in the Thames, which will import pellets
from mills in Holland and also from mills
at Manchester and Southampton in due
course. Removing these lorry journeys
from the road will have considerable
environmental benefits in the requirement
to produce green energy. The potential
is considerable.
The mode shift to water is strong-
ly supported by the Department for
Transport through various grants and
operating subsidies. Please contact our
organisation, Freight by Water, which
is available to assist potential appli-
cants understand the options available.
Furthermore we can provide information
covering all aspects of water freight and
considerable information is available on
our website
Gain&fd illinG thnlGy november-december 2009 | 19
Feature Water freight
http://www.siloscordoba.com/
