As the new container cranes for the Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour Arrive, Joint Managing Directors Ian Tooley and David Harrod write to the Yarmouth Mercury newspaper to herald the opening of the new East Port Outer Harbour at Great Yarmouth.
Great Yarmouth as we know it was founded 800 years ago and prospered by its relationship with the sea. Our relationship with the sea has shaped our town as local people have capitalised on the ebbs and flows of fishing, international trade and offshore activity.
But ports like Yarmouth are now too small to compete as ships get larger and lines of communication extend. Our competitors at home and abroad are investing so it’s critical that we do not get left behind.
So that’s why this town should be grateful that a new generation of entrepreneurs, some of them from the other side of the world, have invested many millions of pounds in EastPort to enable Yarmouth to compete on the world stage in the decades to come.
The magnificent new outer harbour will put our town in the centre of European trade with links to other continents and including, for the first time, the opportunity to attract the larger ships that commonly pass through the Suez and Panama canals.
We know times are hard but let’s look to the future. We should be grateful that others have invested so that we can all be ready to trade when the upturn comes.
So let’s now stand shoulder to shoulder and thank these people for their vote of confidence in our town. At a stroke, their brave investment will allow local businesses to address vast new international markets first hand, not second-hand via other larger European ports and that will bring new wealth and hundreds of jobs to our community.
That’s something we should celebrate and encourage.
