The Prime Minister the Rt Hon David Cameron popped into the Port of Tyne last week. Accompanied by Martin Callanan MEP, the Prime Minister took in a bird’s eye view of the Port from the top of a 70m high container shipping crane.
The new gantry crane, costing £6m, was installed at the end of 2013 and has enabled the Port to accommodate larger container ships, attract new business and improve operational efficiency.
The Port of Tyne is the UK’s fastest growing major deep-sea port, providing a vital connection to Europe and beyond for trade and industry.
The Port’s CEO, Andrew Moffat , said: “ We have just had our busiest time for almost 50 years and handled record volumes of cargo and numbers of passengers. We remain the UK’s no. 1 car exporting port and import about a third of the UK’s raw tea. We are also exporting manufacturing parts, retail goods, recyclable materials and grain.”
The Prime Minister also met the Port’s 16 apprentices, from engineering to business administration, and took a walk along the main Riverside Quay.
[mappress]
Press Release, May 19, 2014