EXCLUSIVE: Infrastructure, energy and shortsea on the Humber

As the UK’s largest port operator, the group is balancing two parallel priorities: Maintaining the efficient flow of goods through its gateways while preparing the infrastructure required for decarbonised energy systems and cleaner shipping.   

Across the Humber cluster, those objectives are translating into new terminals, alternative fuel capability, shore power provision and supply chain consolidation.  

“ABP has cleared two missions now. Historically it was one mission to keep Britain trading, but now we’re playing a large role in supporting and enabling the energy transition,” says Andrew Dawes, regional director, Humber, ABP.   

“Ninety per cent of UK trade travels by sea and the Humber alone represents 17% of UK seaborne trade, so we have a significant impact on critical infrastructure nationally.”  

Forward-thinking  

That combination of scale and responsibility underpins ABP Humber’s current strategy, which links long-established cargo flows with forward-looking energy and logistics investments.  

The Humber’s role in handling everything from hydrocarbons and biomass to foodstuffs, timber and construction materials provides the foundation on which new initiatives are being built, ensuring both continuity and transformation across ABP’s operations.   

Historically, the Humber developed around shortsea links with northern Europe, particularly Scandinavia and those routes continue to shape its commercial profile. Timber, agricultural products and unitised cargo remain central to daily operations.  

ABP’s ports have become increasingly involved in supporting Britain’s future energy requirements, including biomass for power generation and offshore wind manufacturing. 

Mr Dawes points to tangible evidence that the energy transition is already embedded in port activity rather than simply being a future objective.  

“People often say to me ‘that’s a future thing that’s not happening’, but we work with our partners here at Siemens. Green Port Hull was successfully built and Siemens has become one of the leading offshore blade manufacturers.” 

“The Humber is home to eight operational offshore wind farms supplying 4.9GW of clean energy to British homes and businesses and a pipeline of projects including Hornsea 3 and 4.” 

The Humber strategy mirrors ABP’s national position: Maintain Britain’s trading capacity while creating the conditions needed for new, lower-carbon industries.  

Clean energy infrastructure 

Preparing for shipping’s energy transition forms a growing share of ABP Humber’s planning activity.  

The ports are examining how best to provide shore-based infrastructure that supports fleet decarbonisation, including shore power connections, alternative bunkering and facilities to receive and distribute new fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia.  

“As shipping routes look to decarbonise we are supporting enablement on site, so shore-based support for electrification and shore power, bunkering of new fuel types and the receival and distribution of these new fuels,” says Mr Dawes. 

“We need to be ahead of the game and be at the forefront of creating new infrastructure for these requirements with third-party providers working alongside us.” 

In parallel, the Humber is positioning itself for emerging carbon capture and storage opportunities, including the potential for captured carbon imports and storage beneath the North Sea.  

These projects, Mr Dawes suggests, could create entirely new cargo categories while strengthening the UK’s industrial decarbonisation pathway.  

Industrial cluster focus 

The Humber’s concentration of heavy industry makes it central to national emissions reduction targets.  

Mr Dawes describes the Humber as the UK’s largest carbon-emitting industrial cluster and argues that meaningful progress in dacarbonisation cannot occur without transformation there first. 

“If we’re going to support the UK’s ambition to decarbonise industry, we can’t decarbonise the UK without focusing on the Humber area. Carbon capture and storage with partners will enable that step change of carbon reduction, with carbon being piped and stored under the North Sea,” he says.  

Current projects for ABP include working with Air Products on infrastructure to import green ammonia for hydrogen production and distribution, alongside the Viking CCS pipeline initiative.  

At the same time, the operator is reducing its own operational footprint through additional solar installations, wind turbines and targeted investment in cleaner energy across its facilities.  

Shortsea is core  

While energy transition projects are expanding, shortsea shipping continues to anchor the Humber’s commercial model.  

Services linking the UK with continental Europe handle large volumes of roll-on/roll-off traffic, containers and other unitised cargo. These trades have long formed the backbone of the Humber ports’ activity and remain a major source of growth.  

Mr Dawes emphasises the scale of these operations, noting that throughput in the area can rival that of larger deepsea gateways.  

“We’ve serviced this market for hundreds of years. Shortsea services are a predominant market for us, whether it be timber or RoRo and we also have container vessels that are typically shortsea,” says Mr Dawes. 

“Just one of our customers here handles a million teu equivalents and if we add that to the figure for unitised cargo, we handle a significant part of European shortsea trade.”  

Changing trade agreements and shifting cargo flows are expected to create further opportunities for these routes.  

The Humber ports see themselves as an enabling platform, providing the infrastructure that allows operators to adjust capacity and services quickly moving into the future.  

Investing for efficiency and scale  

Improving supply chain efficiency is central to ABP Humber’s shortsea strategy.  

Terminal upgrades, berth enhancements and landside improvements are being developed in partnership with operators including Stena and DFDS, enabling larger vessels and smoother cargo handling.  

“When we look to upgrade and drive efficiency, larger ships, we have investment plans alongside our partners for new rail-road terminals that will allow them to bring in bigger vessels, bringing supply chain efficiency to their customers and to the market overall,” Mr Dawes says.  

The focus is on reducing friction, shortening dwell times and strengthening reliability across the logistics chain.  

By expanding capacity and modernising assets, ABP aims to ensure the Humber remains competitive as vessel sizes increase and operators seek greater economies of scale.  

Port-centric logistics 

Beyond shortsea quay infrastructure, the strategy extends into the development of adjacent land and logistics space.  

ABP is working to attract processing, storage and distribution activities directly onto port estates, particularly within food and cold chain sectors where ageing infrastructure elsewhere in the UK presents opportunities for consolidation.  

“If we can do that in a tax efficient zone, consolidation and economies of scale at a port location with access to green energy, we would look to further decarbonise that supply chain, with food processing and construction on a tax efficient site at the locale where the goods are entering and exiting the UK,” says Mr Dawes. 

Co-location reduces inland transport, improves energy performance and shortens supply chains, creating efficiencies for both operators and cargo owners.  

The approach also reinforces the Humber’s role as an integrated logistics hub rather than simply a maritime gateway.  

Showcasing the Humber 

These developments will be placed in the spotlight when the Humber hosts the Coastlink Conference in May, which is dedicated to shortsea shipping, RoRo and ferry markets.  

Mr Dawes believes the event offers an opportunity to demonstrate both the ports’ heritage and their current transformation.  

“We’ve got a lot to showcase, both from our historic ability to service and our upcoming uplift of infrastructure. We’re deploying hundreds of millions in new infrastructure that will drive supply chain efficiency and it’s not just for UK goods.” 

“We’re geographically blessed by our location and our serviceable market and we’re looking to share that,” he says.  

The conference will provide a platform to engage with partners and identify further opportunities for collaboration.  

“We’re not only investing for ABP, we’re investing as part of our role in supporting Britain’s trade, ensuring our UK exports get to market cost effectively working with our trading partners around the world,” he adds.  

For Mr Dawes, the Humber’s future lies in combining dependable trade handling with forward-looking investment.  

“This history is rich, but that forward-looking part of the port is the most exciting. It’s a great opportunity to have this chance to showcase what we’re doing and where our investments are, not only supporting Britain’s efficient trade but also supporting the energy transformation.” 

It’s exciting times for the Humber cluster and it’s the ideal location to host the Coastlink Conference this year.  

Delegates can look forward to sharing more on how to shape a strategy where shortsea shipping remains central, infrastructure investment is accelerating efficiency and the energy transition is providing new momentum for future growth. 

COASTLINK 2026 

Coastlink is the pan-European network dedicated to the promotion of short sea and feeder shipping.  

Participants include ports and port operators, short sea shipping lines and shippers, intermodal operators, terminal operators, cargo handlers, stevedores and logistics specialists. 

This year’s event hosted by ABP in Hull will take place from 6 to 7 May 2026.

An early bird rate currently available with a 15% discount for delegates. Use code CLKEARLYPREM for a premium delegate place or, CLKEARLY for a standard delegate place.

More information from https://www.portstrategy.com/coastlink or from the Coastlink event team e: info@coastlink.co.uk or t: +44 1329 825335