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Sea Change for Success

It is now 874 years since King David 1st of Scotland granted Aberdeen a royal charter which enabled it to trade internationally – including to England – and the city became an important port.

That charter has helped Aberdeen Harbour enter the Guinness Book of Records as the UK’s oldest business and almost nine centuries on it remains a vital economic hub, not just for the North-east, but for the whole of Scotland.

Situated near the harbour is another historic business, the Shore Porters Society, which may also have its origins in the King David charter of the 12th century but has to settle for 1498 as the official date it was established because a council minute of June 22 that year provides the first recorded mention. However the minute notes the Society as having been in existence “lang tymes obefore.”

The fact that the porters were originally known as poyners, which is derived from a French word of that time meaning “one who carries a bundle” also points towards 12th century origins.

Whatever the precise date Shore Porters was established it can still lay claim to be the oldest documented transport company in the world and just like Aberdeen Harbour it has continued to develop and thrive since medieval times.

Both of these companies, which are woven into the history of Aberdeen, have changed throughout the centuries and that evolution is continuing to secure prosperity for the future.

Over the last 40 years more than £200 million has been invested in the harbour and Colin Parker, chief executive of Aberdeen Harbour Board, said that in the next five years a further £65 million of spending is planned.

Almost half of that will go to creating new deepwater berths suitable for the large modern vessels which now visit Aberdeen

A number of other enhancements are also underway to allow more flexibility in the harbour which is shaped as it is today as a result of the expertise of noted road, canal and bridge builder Thomas Telford who was behind diverting the River Dee and restricting its width to create a self scouring effect which would minimise the need for dredging.

Aberdeen Harbour is operated as a commercial business but since 1960 has been a trust port which means all profits are reinvested in the harbour to the benefit of the local economy. Last year it handled more than 24 million tonnes of shipping carrying five million tonnes of cargo worth £1.5 billion.

Activity at the port generates more than £420 million annually for the region’s economy.

Mr Parker said that although there was a slight decrease in cargo tonnage last year the port was doing well and the future looks optimistic.

“One area of big potential is offshore renewables,” he said. “They are hungry for space and we are interested in attracting that sort of business. We are not the closest port to those locations just now but Round 4 could deliver even more of that sort of activity. “

For more than three decades the North Sea oil and gas industry has been key to the prosperity of the port and links established have opened up new opportunities in West Africa and could do the same in the Barents Sea.

“Development of the gas fields in the Barents Sea has begun and there is a lot of activity potential there.

“We have a weekly freight link to Norway already operated by Sea Cargo so we already

have connections into the supply chain.

“About 50 vessels a year come in and load for West Africa with cargo for oil and gas operations and if they can turn right and go to Africa they could turn left and go to the Barents Sea with equipment manufactured and serviced in this area. West Africa is a big part of our activity just now - we had about 50,000 tonnes of cargo last year.”

After a tough year for oil and gas he says confidence is returning with the future looking good, not just in the North Sea but also to the West of Shetland which is serviced from the European oil capital.

A significant part of the business for the port also comes through the historic links between Aberdeen and the Northern Isles.

“We handled 142,000 passengers last year and all but 10,000 of those were on the Northern Isles Ferry which is a very successful operation. The number of passengers has doubled since NorthLink Ferries took over in 2002 and there was a significant increase last year – up about 7000. “

On The Move

Whether your business wants to move to the Northern Isles, the Falkland Isles or even the Caribbean Isles Shore Porters will be happy to take you there.

Over their five centuries of existence they have been everything from street sweepers and undertakers to firemen and printers but it is as a removal company they are internationally known.

Kevin Brown, one of the company’s five directors – there are three in Aberdeen and two in London – says that the diversification which has been Shore Porters hallmark since at least the 15th century has been an important factor in weathering the current economic slump and in planning for the future.

“A number of companies throughout the UK which have focussed on domestic removal alone have failed,” he said.

“In the past year a lot of businesses have had to try to diversify or be more specific in the areas they are targeting. The areas in which we see a lot of potential growth are the overseas and commercial sides of the business. “

Shore Porters deals with domestic and commercial moves anywhere in the world but for the further afield destinations they link with a global network of removal companies which are rigorously audited through an international organisation to ensure consistent standards.

Shore Porters has 11 warehouses in Aberdeen with its headquarters in Baltic Place but it also owns Rumsey and Son, a long established removal company in Richmond upon Thames in Surrey, where it has two warehouses.

It also has a sister company SPS Training Services which provides road and construction industries training for operators of forklifts, cranes, diggers and other specialist building services equipment.

Kevin started with Shore Porters during school and university holidays and has spent the last 14 years full time with the company which he thinks has a bright future.

“It is a time of change all round the world and it is going to be tough but we are up for the challenge and we will see if we can keep it going for another 500 years.”

Perhaps that should be 800 years because Kevin, like many others, suspects Shore Porters may be as old as its illustrious neighbour Aberdeen Harbour.

“We have a photograph of a banner here which has the date 1136 on it – the same year as the royal charter,” he said. “We don’t know where it came from and we have surprisingly few artefacts for a company so old but as the first documented reference to Shore Porters is the council minute we will just have to go with that.”