The Port of Tyne recently recorded the largest ever cargo of wood pellets ever handled in a single shipment at the Port – the MV Agnes bulk cargo vessel delivered a record 57,845 tonnes of wood pellets into the Port of Tyne.
The wood pellets are destined for one of the UK’s largest energy producers Drax Power based in North Yorkshire.
Arriving from Virginia in the United States, at 225m long the MV Agnes is also the largest wood pellet vessel ever handled at the Port of Tyne.
Steven Harrison, Chief Operating Officer Port of Tyne, said: “The Port was the first to work in partnership with Drax in handling large volumes of wood pellet as it began to convert from coal derived electricity generation to renewable energy in 2010.
“The significant investments in the Port’s infrastructure in recent years have enabled us to accommodate some of the world’s largest cargo ships and the MV Agnes represents a milestone in terms of our ability to handle such large cargoes on the Tyne.”
The MV Agnes was unloaded in 6 days, the wood pellets will be stored at the Port’s purpose built facility and supplied on demand to Drax via the Port’s direct rail terminal – eliminating road miles and congestion and reducing the carbon footprint.