Maritime heavyweights have celebrated 25 years since Associated British Ports (ABP) took over the Port of Ipswich - and made it into the UK's top grain export site.
Big commodities importers and exporters gathered at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford on April 20 to mark the 25-year milestone with ports operator ABP and shipping agency Clarksons Port Services.
Clarksons began its tenure at the port's Sentinel Terminal the same year ABP bought the port - and the two have worked successfully together ever since.
Guests included representatives from businesses that operate from the port including Southern Cement, Slicker, Brett, Tarmac Limited, East Coast Marine Aggregates, Qube containers and Spirit Yachts.
They dined under the wing of the Concorde and were treated to a demonstration of the famous Concorde 'nose drop'. They also raised more than £1000 for St Elizabeth Hospice through a charity raffle.
ABP Wales and Short Sea Ports director Andrew Harston said: "In 1996, the decision was taken to put the Port of Ipswich up for sale and the conditions for selecting the purchaser were centred around its continued operations and further development.
“Since 25 March 1997, when the port was sold to ABP, the Port of Ipswich has celebrated many milestones, including becoming the UK’s number one grain export port, which demonstrates how ABP has lived up to the primary ambition of enhancing port operations."
Other milestones for the port include a £49.6m investment by ABP since 2012 and handling 68.4 million tonnes of cargo between 1997 and 2022.
Since ABP's tenure began, new lock gates have been installed to the Wet Dock, two marinas have been created and the Ipswich Waterfront has been developed.
The port has also seen the construction of 607,111sq ft of new shed space - including the Sentinel Terminal - and the launch of two of the UK's first fully electric Mantsinen cranes.
The port has grown in importance over the years - becoming the UK's top grain export port in 2004 - a position it has retained since.
"The event was a fantastic opportunity to look back and celebrate everything we have achieved over the past 25 years, but also allowed us to look forward to the next 25 years and beyond, as we work together to Keep Ipswich Trading, as it has been almost continuously via the port since the year 600," said Mr Harston.
Clarksons general manager Julian Scott said his company had worked very closely with ABP over the years.
"During this time ABP has provided us with new buildings and infrastructure enabling us to support new and existing customers to a very high standard," he said.
"This has also further reinforced Ipswich as a place of strategic national importance in relation to agribulk exports and imports."
Since the Sentinel Terminal was completed in December 1997 more than 7.5 million tonnes of cargo has been handled through the facility.
“We look forward to continuing our close working relationship with ABP both now and in the future,” said Mr Scott.
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