Kirkcaldy Harbour breaks wheat delivery barrier

Wednesday 07 August 2013

The Nordica Hav’s arrival this week at Kirkcaldy Harbour with her shipment of 2,000 tonnes of high quality wheat officially breaks the 100,000 tonne barrier of wheat being discharged at the port since its re-opening to commercial shipping in 2011.

This milestone has been achieved ahead of schedule and ensures that the Kirkcaldy-based miller, Carr’s Flour Scotland has had consistent delivery of quality wheat even in the difficult harvest conditions endured by the whole UK last summer.

Kirkcaldy Harbour was officially re-opened to commercial ships in 2011 after a 20 year gap. The Fife harbour sees cargo ships calling regularly at the quay to provide Carr’s Flour Scotland with quality wheat from around the UK and Europe.

Shipping to the Port has significantly reduced the truck movements in Kirkcaldy and has taken over 7,200 truck movements off the UK’s roads so far. It has also generated significant interest in the 'Lang Toun', as many locals enjoy seeing the regular ships manoeuvring in the harbour once again.

Carr’s Flour Scotland invested in new intake equipment and storage silos at the harbour for the re-opening, and is currently well underway with another large project to build a new flour mill adjacent to these.

Matt North, Port Manager of Kirkcaldy Harbour, said:

“We are delighted to see a busy working waterfront at Kirkcaldy Harbour. Hutchison’s have the perfect location on the quayside for delivery of a continuous product supply to the Mill by coastal shipping while reducing the lorry miles. Coastal shipping also delivers a greener transport alternative, with shipments being over 10 times more carbon efficient than using road.”

Carr’s Flour Mills Ltd Wheat Director, Julius Deane, added:

“It is very exciting to reach this delivery milestone in Kirkcaldy. Shipping the wheat directly into the mill from the UK and Europe ensures that we don’t have an interruption of supply of the best bread wheats. The harvest last year was difficult but, through coastal shipping, we can supply our customers with quality products throughout the year. We are continuing to invest in our mill at Kirkcaldy and we look forward to the opening of a new mill facility at the harbour later this year.”