Canadian wheat shipped directly to the Port of Silloth for the first time in nearly 50 years

Canadian wheat shipped directly to the Port of Silloth for the first time in nearly 50 years

Caption: Canadian grain imported via the mv Stella Maris at ABP's Port of Silloth

The Cumbrian Port of Silloth handled its first direct cargo of Canadian wheat since 1962, on behalf of customer Carr's Flour Mills, which operates a flour-milling complex alongside the port's New Dock. mv Stella Maris arrived in the early hours of yesterday morning (9 June 2009) from Port Cartier, Quebec, Canada and discharged some 2,526 tonnes of wheat that will be used in high-quality bread flour.

Captain Chris Puxley, ABP's Harbour Master and Port Superintendent for the Port of Silloth said:

"It's great to see the return of direct Canadian grain shipments after almost 50 years. As we prepare to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of operations at Silloth, it is reassuring to know that the port is still busy supporting local industry and agriculture, just as envisaged back in the 1850s."

Julius Deane, Wheat Director for Carr's Flour Mills, added:

"This consignment of wheat is now being transferred locally through the port from the vessel to the mill. This has avoided the need for costly and wasteful intermediate transport and unnecessary additional carbon emissions. The Stella Maris has saved the equivalent of almost 200 lorry journeys that otherwise would have been transported on the region's roads."

Carr's first opened a flour mill next to the Dock at Silloth in 1886, and the company still has one of the original chests that carried wheat imported by sailing ship in Carr's museum.

Julius Deane said: "The advantages of having a dockside facility are just as relevant now as they were then. Imported wheat from Canada is an essential requirement for the highest quality bread flour that is produced by Carr's. Canadian Red Spring Wheat has naturally higher protein due to longer sunshine hours in the summer. Higher-protein wheat makes better bread."

"We also use the Port to bring in vessels of UK-grown milling wheat from the south and south west. This is a useful market for farmers in those regions, and again saves many hundreds of long distance lorry journeys."

The Port of Silloth also handles liquid bulks and forest products, as well as a variety of agribulks. Ends.

Contact: Karen Bermingham, Communications Manager, ABP: Telephone: 0207 406 7820; email: kbermingham@abports.co.uk

10th June 2009

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