Tyne’s bumper year

Investment in the Port led to the biggest volume of cargo handled since 1989, at 6.5m tonnes, representing 22% growth against 2011 figures.

Ongoing investment which has included £5m in deepening berths and the river channel means that the Port now has the capacity to handle panamax-sized ships filled to capacity.

Volumes of imported coal have increased to the highest levels in recent times, to 3.7m tonnes in 2012 compared to a previous record of 3m tonnes in 2008. Imports of the relatively new commodity wood pellets were maintained in 2012 and in logistics overall business performance was steady.

The number of cars handled through the Port’s three car terminals equalled the 2011 record of 667,000 units, helped by a strong transhipment performance which saw an increase of 65,000 cars in the year.