In his bi-monthly Your Local Port column, Dr Paul Richards discusses coming and goings, imports and exports…

Over August and September, 20 cargo ships arrived at ABP’s Port of King’s Lynn and 21 departed, with eight and 11 in ballast respectively.

From August 2-8, UKD Sealion visited the port to undertake bed levelling in the two enclosed docks and at Riverside Quay. This followed the maintenance dredging here carried out by the Cherry Sand, which sails to Lynn at regular intervals.

Timber from the forested countries of Scandinavia and the Baltic has been imported into Lynn since the 14th century (its shipbuilding yards once used much). From the Latvian capital of Riga over this period, MV GT Auriga and MV GT Delphin sailed to the Wash with full cargoes. Five part cargoes of timber were discharged by ships which had first unloaded at Hull (two), Seaham (two) and Barrow Haven on the Humber (one).

The amount of timber stored on the port estate testifies to its high significance as Lynn’s principal import.

There were five single shipments to our Wash port. MV Eems Spirit carried salt from Harlingen in the Netherlands; from Glensanda on Scotland’s west coast, MV Fri Skien discharged aggregate for the construction industry; MV Fri Sea transported wheat from Nykoping, which is a small port in south-east Sweden on the Baltic. A consignment of coke from Gdynia on the Polish Baltic for the sugar beet factory at nearby Wissington was landed by MV Delfin. MV Talina B discharged bagged ammonia nitrate from Rouen, which is a port on the Seine in northern France. It is used as fertiliser to enhance plant growth and crop yields in England’s farmlands.

Recycled metal was the principal export in this period to diminish the mini-mountain on the Bentinck Dock. Three of the four shipments went to the Dutch capital of Amsterdam, which is a short sea voyage from Lynn. One of the cargoes destined for Amsterdam was taken by MV Barents, which carried another load of recycled metal to Terneuzen. This Dutch port of 55,000 inhabitants is located in the Southern Netherlands.

Barley from eastern England has been exported via Lynn to Scotland and Europe for at least 400 years. MV Truffaldino and MV Fri Lake sailed with consignments to Buckie on Scotland’s Moray Firth. A third cargo was taken by MV Rix Flevo to Eemshaven in the northern Netherlands.

The export of beans from Lynn to small ports in western Norway for animal feed is familiar traffic to readers. MV Eems Solar and MV Eems Sky transported loads to Floro and MV Wilson Elbe carried a third single cargo to Stavanger.

Much of Lynn’s import and export trade is with the smaller European ports, which play a major role in driving the wheels of the continent’s economy.

The King’s Lynn Conservancy Board (KLCB) is responsible for the safe navigation of ships to and from the port and the maintenance of the buoys in the Wash. It was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1897 with offices today in the former Victorian Baths (1856) on the Common Staith.

The Pilot Tower was attached to the building in 1864 to allow pilots to watch for vessels approaching the Estuary Cut, excavated 1850-53. The Great Ouse had lost its ancient, wide and shallow estuary, soon to be reclaimed for rich farmland. The former Pilot Tower was located opposite True’s Yard Fisherfolk Museum in North Street.

Associated British Ports are the owners of the port estate, which includes the fisher fleet. The KLCB and ABP work in partnership to ensure the successful operation of a Port, helping to keep Britain trading.