Unparalleled positioning can deliver huge RoRo potential


Now in its eleventh year, Multimodal is the UK and Ireland’s premier freight transport, logistics and supply chain management event. With representatives of every logistics sector gathered under one roof, it’s a highly valuable industry event. 
For Paul Barker, Port Director Roll-On/Roll-Off (RoRo) for Peel Ports, it’s an opportunity to communicate the unique and expansive capabilities of Peel Ports for RoRo freight movement services across the United Kingdom and beyond.   
It’s an exciting time to be heading up one of the UK’s largest networks of RoRo. Our assets at the ports of Liverpool, Heysham, and London Medway afford us the ability to efficiently service Britain’s two sea-frontiers with the EU – Kent and the Irish Sea. These, supported by other assets with RoRo capability in Great Yarmouth and Clydeport, mean we are well placed to support businesses looking for alternative options in post-Brexit Britain.
Having assets on both frontiers offers variety and flexibility. For example our network connects Liverpool and Heysham with both Northern and Southern Ireland and there is potential to connect London Medway with any number of mainland European ports. Our strategically-located terminals allow Peel Ports to offer an integrated solution to its clients for their RoRo requirements.
This group-led approach whereby customers can take advantage of our network of routes helps us in delivering a key differentiator from our competitors, allowing us to work in partnership with existing and new clients across the Peel Ports’ group assets, whether they be ferry operators, hauliers or the owners of cargo.
All of our ports can accommodate both accompanied and unaccompanied traffic, however our Irish Sea ports see volumes skewed towards unaccompanied freight given the benefits unlocked by being closer to the origin or destination of the journeys, resulting in much better driver utilisation.
It’s easy to understand why Peel Ports is a vital component of the Irish Sea ferry market. Shipping lines from our terminals give customers an unparalleled doorway from Britain’s centre, right into Ireland’s two capital cities and the Isle of Man. As such, our existing presence on the Irish Sea sees us handling in the region of 50% of all volumes that cross.
Now, we are looking to work with our existing and new customer base to develop innovative RoRo solutions in a post-Brexit world.
A crucial element of this is unlocking the huge potential opportunity for RoRo operators to gain access to London and the South East through London Medway. Here, we are focused on exploiting what is an already developed asset with the potential to offer alternative options.
Peel Ports at London Medway also provides the unique opportunity for trailers to sit for two to three days between journeys, with a further 200+ acres of development land ready to be used as a storage contingency.
Looking at the network as a whole, our expertise, strategically-located ports and innovative facilities work in synthesis to provide the tailored solutions required to maximise the efficiency of our customers’ operations.

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