Thanet District Council has taken on a shipping expert in its bid to return cross-Channel services to the Port of Ramsgate.
The authority has announced the appointment of Robert Hardy of Paradox Consulting to its Port of Ramsgate team. Robert has 35 years of experience in the European shipping and transport industry and is a well-respected expert in the field.
TDC says Ramsgate is the second closest UK port to the continent with capacity to handle up to 500,000 road goods vehicles per annum. The authority says the port is ideally situated to provide multimodal transport solutions that will link directly with France and Belgium and also connect with existing rail and sea networks both in the UK and across Europe and the Baltic.
Gavin Waite, Director of Operational Services, said: “Over the last 18 months we have made a significant investment in port infrastructure to ensure we are open for business. The delivery of a new cross channel service remains a key priority and securing the services of Rob Hardy is testament to this commitment and will help us achieve this objective.”
Mr Hardy added: “I am delighted to be joining the Port of Ramsgate team to help guide it through its next phase of development. These are exciting times for Ramsgate as the need for interconnected transport solutions to meet increasing demand for leaner and greener logistics has never been greater. A new cross channel service from Ramsgate will create jobs and benefit the whole of the local area.”
Officers and directors will be exhibiting at the industry logistics event, Multimodal 2017, in Birmingham this week. Council representatives will be highlighting the Port of Ramsgate and its opportunities to over 9,000 industry stakeholders who attend the exhibition.