Biggest Ever Loaded Cargo Vessel Makes History On Teesside

Teesside’s exports reached new heights as the biggest loaded cargo vessel in history ever to pass under Middlesbrough’s Transporter Bridge set sail for overseas markets. The giant ship, Skala which measures a colossal 172 metres long and 28 metres wide, docked at AV Dawson’s Teesside North Sea Supply Base Terminal last month and after loading 21,000 tonnes of cargo, set off for export markets in Europe. Cargo contents have not been disclosed.

Teesside-based logistics specialist, AV Dawson co-ordinated the full logistics process. Gary Dawson, managing director at AV Dawson said: “The work that we’ve done over the last three years to dredge the river and develop our quayside as part of a multi-million pound master plan is now enabling us to attract multinational blue chip customers to transport more raw materials and finished products through Teesside and out to global markets. The investment programme included a purpose-built ?3.4m deepwater quay, providing us with greater capacity to support larger and more economical vessels, effectively opening up Teesside to more export opportunities.”

The enormous ship, which has a gross tonnage of 21,213 tonnes, was fully loaded with its cargo within just six days. Previously, the biggest ship ever to dock on the AV Dawson quay weighed in at 12,500 tonnes.