PD Ports

Last week we were honoured to be invited to celebrate at the Middlesbrough College Student Awards, the room was absolutely bursting with incredible talent across such a wide range of disciplines.

Emma Dickinson, Learning and Development Manager said: "My cheeks genuinely hurt from smiling; every single winner was so thoroughly deserving, and the energy in the room made it impossible not to beam."

We had the pleasure of presenting two categories:
Supported Internship Student of the Year – Thomas Reader
Access to Higher Education Student of the Year – Ionica Petrea

Unfortunately Thomas couldn’t accept his award in person, he’d flown out on a college trip that very morning from Newcastle Airport, but he still got his moment. In true Middlesbrough College style, the team surprised him with a 3am award presentation, ensuring he didn’t miss out on celebrating his achievement.

Nights like this make it really clear that the industry pipelines are strong. With this level of passion, skill, and ambition coming through, the future looks incredibly bright.

A fantastic opportunity last week to be invited to join The Purpose Coalition round table at Redcar and Cleveland College alongside likeminded individuals and businesses in the region.

It was great to discuss how we can continue to work together to benefit our local communities providing lasting careers and training.

As a business that invests over £1.5m annually in training and employs around 1,400 people this is something that is very important to us. We look forward to continued involvement in the future.

Len Overton, Senior Commercial Manager was delighted to welcome Cllr. Rob Waltham, Leader of North Lincolnshire Council, and North Lincolnshire councillor Josh Walshe to Groveport yesterday afternoon, a key inland port within our Humber cluster.

The visit was a valuable opportunity to discuss how national and international policies affect our industry, and how we support our customers in navigating them.

As well as showcasing the site and upcoming improvements to our infrastructure, highlighting opportunities for growth on the Humber.

We also discussed how we can continue to be involved in supporting the local area, including joining committees to ensure our voices are heard, positively affect change and support local community initiatives.

We look forward to further collaboration with North Lincolnshire Council in the near future.

After 47 years on the River Tees, Pilot Cutter Skipper Rodney Thompson has hung up his lifejacket with a send off attended by friends and colleagues from across PD Ports.

Rodney’s role is one of the most challenging on the river. As skipper of a pilot cutter – a fast, highly manoeuvrable boat – he transferred maritime pilots on to incoming vessels in Tees Bay, often in the toughest sea and weather conditions, so they could safely guide merchant ships into Teesport.

In a job that demands skill, calm judgement and reliability, Rodney is renowned for delivering all three.

Starting out in 1979, long before modern tech, Rodney has also been involved in a number of shipping rescues and served with the Redcar RNLI crew. His career has been defined by professionalism and pride in the river.

Reflecting on his time with PD Ports at the event, he said: “When I started out there was no GPS – we used a compass and a watch and had one radar between three cutters.

"When the fog comes in it’s like driving down the motorway with a blindfold on.

"I’ve been involved with plenty of rescues over the years because we were out there 24/7… we were always nearby.

"I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve met some great friends and colleagues and I’ll miss it. But that’s me – over and out.”

Frans Calje, PD Ports' Chief Executive Officer, said: “Rodney’s story is woven into the history of this business - he has shown the kind of steady commitment that leaves a lasting mark.

“It is clear that he has given this business far more than years of service – he has given dedication, knowledge and a standard of professionalism that others have looked up to for decades.”

Congratulations Rodney and good luck with whatever comes next.

Read more about Rodney and his time on the River Tees:
https://www.pdports.co.uk/news/celebrating-a-remarkable-47-years-of-service-on-the-river-tees/

PD Ports is proud to support Tees Maritime’s latest project, delivered with support from the MFC Foundation and Middlesbrough Council, which links famous players from the club’s history with countries that trade directly with our region by sea.

This weekend, fans heading to Middlesbrough FC’s Riverside Stadium for the game against Portsmouth will see international flags linked to club legends on lamp posts along the route, serving as a reminder that Teesside is connected to the world in more ways than many people realise.

Each flag in the Roaring by the River project also links to engaging school resources designed to help young people understand how international trade works and how much of it happens right here on their doorstep.

We chose to spotlight the Netherlands, represented by former Boro favourite and League Cup hero Bolo Zenden, because it’s one of our most important trading partners, with long‑established container services from Teesport to and from Rotterdam three times a week.

Also, our chief executive is Dutch, so it had to be done!

Our second choice, Spain, represented by Gaizka Mendieta, is another key partner, with regular import routes supporting the construction, agriculture and manufacturing sectors across the Tees region and beyond.

More broadly, PD Ports has direct maritime trading links with most of the countries highlighted in the project – moving the everyday materials that keep the UK economy running. Some of the products imported and exported through our container terminal and bulks quays at Tees and Hartlepool each year include:

Netherlands – containers and unitised goods
Spain – gypsum and potash imports
Belgium – road trailers, vehicles and containers
France – containerised goods
Finland – container services
Portugal – containerised trade
Germany – short‑sea container links
Poland – container traffic
Ghana – vehicles and project cargo
Senegal – vehicle exports
USA – specialist exports and energy‑related cargo

PD Ports Chief Executive Frans Caljé said: “As a proud adopted Teessider, I love initiatives like this. They bring to life the fact that Middlesbrough is a genuinely global place – with ships sailing to and from our river to countries all over the world.

“Ports are a vital part of the national economy – almost everything we buy in the shops, the fuel we fill our cars with and food we eat has come across a quay at some stage – but we’re a largely hidden industry.

“The millions of tonnes of cargo that moves in and out of the River Tees each year has a global impact and I hope projects like this can inspire young people to learn more about the industry on their doorstep.

“Tees Maritime has done a fantastic job creating resources that make international trade real, relevant and exciting for young people across our region, linking it to the star players we all know.”

A huge well done to Jo Vinton-Bullwinkel and everyone involved in the project