ABP Port of Southampton has been named best in the UK by The National Transport Awards 2015

The Port of Southampton

Emily Ford, Reporter / Saturday 10 October 2015 / News

SOUTHAMPTON is officially home to the port of the year.

The National Transport Awards 2015 has seen ABP Port of Southampton named the best in the UK.

Southampton beat off stiff competition to claim its latest award, with last year’s winner Port of Tyne and Peel Ports Group’s Port of Liverpool among the contenders, as well as ABP’s Port of Hull.

But judges were impressed by ABP’s drive to constantly improve operations and facilities, with more than £150m being invested in the last two years alone.

The prestigious award comes after a series of accolades for the port this year, including retaining the title of Europe’s most productive port.

Bosses have been celebrating the successful year, which has also seen them win the UK’s number one cruise port and the country’s top car handling port.

Last month the port was also confirmed as the country’s fourth busiest port, climbing up one place from last year.

Last year saw the port take the wraps off its fifth multi-storey vehicle handling terminal, a project worth £7m, and significant investment has also been made into the port’s rail infrastructure, which supports its vehicle handlingbusiness.

The results of the investment have already been proven, with the port seeing a 12 per cent growth in the number of vehicles it handles.

Nick Ridehalgh, ABP director Southampton, said: “This fantastic accolade is testament to the hard work of the staff across the entire port, from those delivering our ambitious business plans to those who contribute to the incredibly smooth operations that take place 24 hours a day.

“Our constant drive to constantly improve operations and facilities is all about doing our part to keep Britain trading. The more we can help businesses import and export their goods, the more we can help the cogs of UK industry to turn and contribute to the economy.”

The ABP Southampton team pick up their awardThe latest figures show that the port contributes £990 million to the UK economy every year, including £714 million for the Solent region and it also supports 15,000 jobs.

Supported by the Department of Transport and Passenger Focus, the National Transport Awards ceremony took place at Westminster Park Plaza in London, and saw the country’s leading transport service providers heralded for their sterling work.