New Timber Service to Port of Dover’s Cargo Terminal Boasts Huge Carbon Savings and Supports Renewable Energy in Kent

A new timber call into the Port of Dover Cargo Terminal strengthens coastal shipping links at the Port and signals the sustainable credentials of domestic shipping. (*image credit – Euroforest)

Euroforest, the UK’s largest independent provider of timber harvesting, recently began a monthly vessel call into the Port of Dover, boasting huge carbon savings and securing rapid transit to the primary customer.

The soft chip wood, largely comprised of natural wind blow, will now be transported from Aberdeen via coaster vessel to the Port of Dover, each 2500-tonne shipment taking 93 HGVs off the roads and saving 57,000 road miles, offering vast carbon savings. The timber carried by the monthly service is bound for Kent Renewable Energy’s biomass park, a combined heat and power plant that opened in 2018. The site generates over 27MW of green energy every year – enough to supply 50,000 homes and save over 100,000 tonnes of CO2, and equivalent to 1 million flight tickets to Paris.

Henry Gunn, Area Manager for Euroforest, said:

“We are proud to be working with the Port of Dover on this end-to-end sustainable service. With much of the material transported from the vast surplus of material available following the natural wind blow from Storm Arwen in November 2021, the environmental credentials of this transit are incredibly strong. From our forests in Aberdeenshire to Sandwich in Kent, with minimal road miles attached. Euroforest is delighted to be able to support the UK renewable energy market via this greener mode of transport to power stations in the South.”

Alison Hall, Head of Business Development Strategy and Corporate Planning at the Port of Dover, said:

“The Port of Dover is thrilled to welcome timber into the Port, adding to our already diverse range of cargo handled. This vessel call by Euroforest is a prime example of how our strategic location can reduce the length of journeys and the time of onward distribution of products, considerably reducing CO2 emissions compared to other routes; in this case removing 93 HGVs from UK roads every month, easing congestion, and resulting in huge carbon savings.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

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About Port of Dover   

The Port of Dover is the busiest international ferry port in the UK, with two million cars and 11 million passengers passing through the Port every year. Dover also processes 2.4 million trucks per year, more than all other UK ports. In total, the Port of Dover deals with £144bn of trade in goods each year, and 33% of the UK’s trade with the EU, supporting businesses across the nation.   

With a cargo business handling fresh produce, containers, project cargo, general cargo, grain and Ro-Ro traffic operating from a state-of-the-art terminal next to the world’s busiest shipping lane and on the quickest sea route to Europe, Dover is building for the future.    

In addition, Dover is the UK’s second busiest cruise port, welcoming more than 25 cruise lines and 200,000 guests each year. The Port also has a marina and property business primed to benefit from a new waterfront.    The Port of Dover holds ambitious net zero targets, placing it at the vanguard of decarbonisation within the UK ports industry. More information on the targets can be found here. The Port’s focus on sustainability is driving it forward, enabling the team to keep the Port of Dover at the heart of international trade and tourism, and contributing value as a key gateway, employer, business and community partner.