ABP creates Humber unitised operations role as container volumes jump 40%

Associated British Ports has created a new Head of Unitised Operations role for the Humber, a response to container terminal volumes that have grown by more than 40% over the past five years at Immingham and Hull.

Jamie Pearson, a nine-year ABP veteran who rose through the business, takes the newly created post. He will also oversee the two border control posts and future ABP RoRo opportunities in the region.

His former job as Immingham Container Terminal (ICT) Manager goes to Alex Pickett, who joined ABP eleven years ago as a Mechanical Apprentice and most recently served as Engineering Lead overseeing crane operations at the terminal.

What is driving the restructuring?

The scale of the Humber operation explains why ABP wants dedicated strategic leadership. The terminals handle:

• 26 vessel calls per week, connecting to destinations across Europe and beyond
• More than 500,000 TEUs annually
• GBP 50 million of recent ABP investment, including new reachstackers and terminal management systems

That GBP 50 million works out to roughly GBP 10 million a year across the investment period — a serious commitment for short-sea and feeder-scale facilities competing against larger UK gateways.

Colin McLoughlin, Head of Operations for the Humber, said the appointments reflect the importance of unitised operations to ABP's Humber business, with the new strategic leadership role complemented by continued operational focus at terminal level.

What does it mean for shippers?

For shippers and forwarders routing cargo through the Humber, the change signals intent rather than disruption. Pearson said he aims to grow the container terminals by attracting new customers and developing opportunities across both deep-sea and short-sea markets — language that suggests ABP wants a share of deep-sea feeder traffic, not just continental short-sea trade.

Pickett offered a narrower brief. He said his engineering background and strong existing knowledge of ICT's operations give him an advantage in the terminal manager role — an internal-continuity message aimed at reassuring existing customers rather than winning new ones.

The caveat behind the growth story

A 40% volume increase over five years is a genuine acceleration, but ABP has not disclosed the absolute baseline figures behind that percentage, nor the split between Immingham and Hull. Whether the growth reflects market share gains from other UK ports or broader short-sea market expansion remains unstated.

The creation of a border control post portfolio within Pearson's remit also points to post-Brexit customs and sanitary checks remaining a fixed operational cost — and a potential service differentiator — for Humber cargo.

With new leadership in place and continued investment in equipment and systems, the Humber terminals' trajectory now depends on whether Pearson can convert deep-sea and short-sea interest into incremental vessel calls and TEU growth.