Port of Sunderland director Matthew Hunt says future is looking bright

‘To say it has been a tumultuous decade really doesn’t do it justice, it’s been inconceivable.”

Port of Sunderland director Matthew Hunt cut a relaxed figure as he recalled the events of the last few years.

War, Brexit, Covid-19 and import and export restrictions are just a few of the many headwinds UK ports have had to successfully navigate, and the North Sea hub has been no different.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was such a test of its mettle. Prior to the outbreak of war on Feb 22 2022, a significant volume of the cargo passing through Port of Sunderland was from the Eastern European nation.

“We had to come up with a new business strategy almost overnight to make up for what was a significant loss of business,” he recalls. “I’d never experienced anything quite like it in my 14 years here and I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment.

“Like any organisation, we are constantly planning for the future and devising contingency plans in the event of scenario A or scenario B, but there are some crises that you just can’t prepare for, and this was one of those events.

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“Fortunately for us however, we had spent the best part of 10 years looking at how we could diversify into new markets and lessen our reliance on certain commodities, which really came to the fore.

“It’s hard to imagine, had we not been doing this and had continued relying on one key market, how things would look now. It doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Looking back at the events with Matthew, you can sense that he is still quite taken aback by it all, which is why we were both at a loss for words when trying to summarise the past few years.

The mood swiftly changed to one of optimism however as we began chatting about the aftermath and the developments that followed.

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“One of the things which helped us generate revenue from other sources was the opening of Brineflow’s deep-water liquid fertiliser terminal at the port.

“One of the largest in Europe, the terminal opened in the three months prior and had the capacity to store up to 9,010 tonnes of liquid nitrogen fertiliser.

“The outbreak of war resulted in the nation’s fertiliser supply chain immediately grinding to a halt and a significant need for more capacity.

“Thankfully, we had a brand-spanking new terminal and the capacity to bring in huge vessels from all over the world as the UK and Europe rushed to source supplies from elsewhere.”

Brineflow’s ability to bring in fertilisers from new markets in North America helped create a stockpile capable of keeping Britain’s farmers growing and secure the nation’s food stock, however as other sources in the UK began to dry-up, a need arose to further increase capacity.

“When we first sat down with John Fuller, chief executive of Brineflow and his team, one of the things they asked is if we would be able to facilitate the expansion of the terminal a few years down the line, as they continued to grow.

“Fortunately, we had various projects coming to fruition which would see acres of brownfield land transformed into shovel-ready, developable sites, so we were able to give them our assurance that, when the time came, we would be able and willing to support them.”

So crippling was the pressure placed on the UK’s agriculture industry that, just months after cutting the ribbon on its new terminal, the company began planning for phase two.

“The terminal couldn’t have come at a better time. Whereas we had originally expected phase two to begin a couple of years after they arrived, it all of a sudden became a question of ‘can we turn a couple of years into a couple of months?’ “We immediately took to the drawing board, identified where we could feasibly build a second, larger terminal and got to work. Within five months, it was up and running. Looking back, it was an astonishing feat.”

The second, purpose-built terminal increased Brineflow’s capacity by an extra 40,000 tonnes, taking its total capacity at the port to almost 50,000 tonnes.

“In just two months, we had gone from wondering where we were going to turn for revenue, to all of a sudden housing one of Europe’s largest fertiliser terminals and a critical piece of UK infrastructure.

“Our success in identifying and securing such revenue streams during a time of real uncertainty and difficulty is testament to the outstanding efforts of our team and the close relationships we’ve built with our partners.

“Despite facing the sudden loss of a major part of our business, we had managed to diversify and grow despite it seeming as though we had the whole world against us. It’s something, as a team, I think we will forever be immensely proud of.”

A multi-million-pound investment by the port’s owner, Sunderland City Council, into reinstating the port’s rail lines also played a key role in the turning around of its fortunes.

John Fuller

The arrival in June 2021 of a Class 60 Engine towing 21 wagons of steel coil marked the first train in over 20 years to pull into the port.

Thousands of wagons carrying commodities ranging from steel to feedstock, aggregates and renewable fuels have since utilised the service, allowing the port to further diversify its offering and tap into new revenue streams.

“It’s been fantastic seeing commercial cargo trains loading and unloading at the port again,” Matthew said proudly.

“It has seen us become a fully-functioning intermodal hub, connecting our customers by rail, road and sea, and has also helped both us and our customers significantly slash our carbon emissions.

“On average, it is estimated that every freight train eliminates the need for 60 trucks, so you can imagine how much CO2 that is saving, let alone money.

“It’s provided a huge boost to the port and our customers, both from an environmental and an economic standpoint.”

The port also further improved its handling capabilities by investing in new fixed and mobile cranes, increasing the amount and variety of cargo it can handle. This included a seven-figure investment in a Liebherr LH60 materials handler, a JCB Telehandler and a second Liebherr LHM 420 mobile crane capable of lifting up to 120 tonnes.

“The continued investment into rail and our lifting equipment has resulted in us attracting new business from all over the world, as well as strengthening our existing customer relationships.

“It has also led to reduced vessel turnaround times which naturally has meant we’ve been able to welcome more ships and operate in a way that has been a lot more productive. These strategic investments, coupled with our partnership with Brineflow, were absolutely mission critical.”

Navigating choppy waters is considered to be – figuratively and literally – part and parcel of the job for those working in the maritime industry.

But after every tough storm comes a brighter day, and after navigating through such incredible economic thunderheads, Matthew and the team now have every reason to be confident about the future.

Hundreds of millions of pounds of public and private sector investment have been pumped into the port over recent years, helping the organisation grow year-on-year in the most challenging of conditions.

Two new Enterprise Zones, comprising over 20 acres of shovel-ready, developable land, have attracted significant interest, with two international businesses operating in the circular economy committing to building world-first recycling hubs on the sites.

One such company is Wastefront AS, backed by energy giant Vitol, Dutch energy storage operator VTTI and the Norwegian state-owned company and national development bank, Innovation Norway.

The firm has received planning permission to construct a world-first tyre recycling plant at the port, which will be the first industrial scale project of its kind in Europe, and one of the largest in the world.

Once operational, the plant will take end-of-life tyres and recycle them into fuels, scrap steel and recovered carbon black (rCB) which can be converted into new products.

Capable of processing around 80,000 tonnes end-of-life car and truck tyre material annually, company chiefs have calculated that, at full capacity, it could help offset 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 over the plant’s lifespan.

“The Wastefront deal has the potential be a huge deal for us,” Matthew added.

“One of the main growth areas we identified when we were looking to diversify into new markets was the circular economy and this is a great example of that now coming to fruition.

“Every year, more than a billion tyres reach the end of their lifespan and in the UK alone, 395,000 tyres are exported overseas due to a lack of local solutions, totalling 80 per cent of the nation’s end-of-life tyres.

“This plant will help massively alleviate that. It will eliminate millions of tonnes of carbon emissions that are released into the atmosphere as a result of waste tyres being exported.

“Economically, it will create over scores of highly skilled jobs too and see millions of pounds in GVA added to the regional economy each and every year. It would be a major coup for the region, not just the city and the port.”

Wastefront’s chief strategy officer and co-founder, Christian A Hvamstad, is an alumnus of the University of Sunderland, too, having graduated with a BA (Hons) in Business Administration back in 2001, so he knows the city well.

“Christian and the team have really bought in to what we’re doing at the port and have even opened an operational base at the former Wear Commissioner’s building in the city centre, which is already creating jobs.

“They have also committed to using local suppliers throughout the construction phase wherever possible, which aligns with our values as an organisation, so we are incredibly proud that they chose the port. It really is testament to everything we’ve put in place over recent years to create and market a unique offering that no other port can match.”

Quantafuel is the second company that has committed to investing in the port’s new enterprise zones and like Wastefront, the company also hails from Norway.

Wastefront AS CEO Vianney Vales

The business specialises in transforming plastic waste into sustainable products that are in high demand to help solve the global plastic waste problem.

Over the coming years, the firm plans to roll out a series of processing plants across the UK, with Port of Sunderland among the first to be confirmed.

“Quantafuel’s decision to choose Port of Sunderland as its preferred location for its first UK operation really attests to how appealing a business case we are now able to present to organisations seeking to invest in the UK.

“We have an incredibly skilled workforce, access to five-class universities, great transport links and a thriving green economy, which continues to grow year-on-year.

“As a region, the North East is fast carving out a real reputation for being a global green energy centre and we are delighted to be playing a key part in that.”

Wastefront and Quantafuel are just two of the many businesses operating in the circular economy to have invested in the port over recent years.

Leo Group, which creates products such as sustainable aviation fuel from animal by-products, opened a new storage terminal at the port in August last year.

The storage tanks hold the oil recycled from Leo Group’s Omega Protein plants across the UK and allows the company to load some of the largest tankers in operation.

The oil, a highly valuable cargo, is then shipped to world-renowned energy companies and is used to generate renewable energy as well as being processed into high-tech “green” SAF and HVO fuel.

“Leo Group is another pioneering circular economy business that is making significant investments at the port.

“The global push towards Net Zero has greatly increased the demand for clean biofuels like those produced by Leo Group – as has the UK’s recently passed legislation that all flights taking off from the country must use at least 10 per cent sustainable aviation fuel by 2030 – so it is a real growth market with significant potential.”

After chatting for half an hour in the board room of Capstan House, the port’s head office, we headed out for a swift drive around the 250-acre site which wraps around the city’s east end.

Immediately behind Capstan House, there are three gargantuan Liebherr cranes being assembled ahead of export.

“We have a great working relationship with Liebherr.

“The cranes they manufacture at their plant in the shadow of the Stadium of Light, on the banks of the River Wear, are sold to customers in all four corners of the globe.

We have a great working relationship with Sunderland City Council which allows us to facilitate such movements in the early hours to keep disruption at a minimal. It’s a real benefit of us being one of the few municipally-owned ports.

“However, due to their size, they are unable to drive the majority of their cranes to the port as they are just too large for built-up areas.

“Instead, they carry them down in separate parts and assemble them in our hard-standing loading bays before driving them on to ships and away they go.

“Naturally, the abnormal loads can be difficult logistically, but thankfully we have a great working relationship with Sunderland City Council which allows us to facilitate such movements in the early hours to keep disruption at a minimal. It’s a real benefit of us being one of the few municipally-owned ports.”

As we drove down to Greenwell’s Quay, which provides stunning vistas of Roker Marina, Solstad Offshore’s Normand Pacific offshore supply ship was docked and waiting to sail off into the North Sea.

Spanning 122m, Matthew explained how it was one of many offshore vessels and companies which have chosen to operate from Port of Sunderland due to its strategic position close to North Sea windfarms.

“Like most ports in the North of England and Scotland, we’ve really benefitted from the rise of offshore wind and the numerous windfarms being developed in the North Sea.

“SSE, Boskalis, Osprey, Solstad, Balfour Beatty and ASCO are just a few of the companies that have operated from the port in some capacity over recent years.

“And with more wind farms in the pipeline, such as Berwick Bank and Hornsea 3, it is showing no signs of slowing down.

“It’s another example of just how well placed we are to support the shift towards embracing a circular economy.”

One of the emerging markets which has been widely tipped by industry and government to deliver significant benefits for the maritime industry is floating wind farms.

Earlier this year, the government revealed its ambition to deploy up to 50 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030, with up to five gigawatts to come from floating wind. But while Matthew agreed that there is significant potential in floating wind, he was also keen to highlight that achieving such targets will have its challenges.

“The opportunities offered by floating offshore wind are incredible, vast even, so it’s fantastic to see that the Government has put in place a roadmap to help grow the sector.

“One of the key challenges however, which the Offshore Renewable Energy has rightly alluded to, is the sheer amount of space and resources required to deliver such projects.

“That is why collaboration is so important and will be pivotal to the UK achieving its goal of becoming a world-leader in the development and deployment of this emerging technology.

“The North East is a fantastic case in point. We have five ports from Northumberland to County Durham and have attracted investment from some of the biggest names in the world of renewable energy in recent years due to our strategic position on the North Sea coast.

“However, all five ports would struggle to deliver such projects in isolation, but there is no reason why we couldn’t work together to utilise our unique strengths, share the workload and drive down the cost for developers to establish the supply chains required to drive this sector forward.

“Combined, we have the workforce, the infrastructure and the resources to become a genuine world leader in the field, but only by working collaboratively could we realistically realise this potential.”

As we head back to Capstan House, a colleague points out that the yellow bridge we were about to cross was, according to local folklore, designed by an apprentice of Brunel, one of history’s most renowned engineers.

Now, whether or not the Gladstone Swingbridge was or was not the brainchild of Brunel’s apprentice, it served as a fitting tribute to just how pivotal of a role our ports play in growing the economy and unlocking innovation.

While the ports of yesteryear shipped the coal which powered the world, today they are helping deliver the wind turbines and sustainable fuels to aid the global shift to net zero.

And while it may have been tumultuous at times over the past few years, Matthew wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It is an incredibly rewarding industry to work in, there’s nothing quite like it. I’ve been here 14 years now and no two days are the same. We are always being presented with new challenges and opportunities.

“There’s also something quite satisfying knowing that, every given hour of the day, we’re playing a key role in keeping the world moving. I mean... how could you not find fulfilment in that?”