On Monday 27th June Warrenpoint Harbour Authority hosted its Annual General Meeting (AGM). The event took place virtually for the second year in a row. The virtual option makes the meeting more accessible to customers and stakeholders who wish to attend from outside the area.
The meeting was well attended by customers, members of the local community, Port users, stakeholders, and staff.
The meeting opened with a review of the year ending 2021 by Chairperson of the Board of Warrenpoint Harbour Authority, Dr Gerard O’Hare, followed by an update from David Holmes, CEO, Warrenpoint Port.
The event also reviewed the Port’s contribution to the local community and gave attendees an opportunity to post questions, the full responses to which will be published on the Port’s website in the coming days.
Chair of the Warrenpoint Harbour Authority Board, Dr Gerard O’Hare said, “We are all too aware of the challenges of the last two years for society and business. 2021 was no exception for the Port.
“Despite these many challenges and uncertainties, I am delighted to report that Warrenpoint Harbour has delivered a robust performance in 2021. The Port experienced its busiest year to date in terms of tonnage at 3,751,963 tonnes up from 3,327,891 in 2020. This is an uplift of 12.7%. Much of this is driven by an increase in the total number of vessel calls, which were up 14.4% on 2020.
“Turnover increased significantly to £7,054,640 up from £5,889,863 in 2020, an increase of 19.8%. Whilst some of this increase was driven by Covid catch-up, it may also have been driven by capitalising on some elements of Brexit.
“Given the Covid pressures of social distancing and self-isolation, delivering such as strong performance was a challenge for the Operational teams, but one which they dealt with admirably. We would like to again record our thanks to all the team at Warrenpoint Harbour for their efforts.”
In closing the meeting Dr O Hare said, “Whilst we remain cautiously optimistic to date 2022 has proven to be challenging. Faced with rising inflation, the situation in Ukraine, the continuing uncertainty over Brexit and the general notion of an impending recession, as with all businesses it is difficult to forecast the overall economic outcome for 2022.
What can be said however, is that Warrenpoint Harbour is very much open for business, with exciting plans in the pipeline for advancing the green agenda. We are delighted to be welcoming a return to cruise ships back to Warrenpoint and some new product consignments in 2022. It is important for attendees to know that the team at Warrenpoint Harbour is ready to deliver for new and existing customers; ready for new business; and ready to deliver for the community in which it serves.”
Copies of the 2021 Annual Report are available on via the link or please contact the Port directly to request a hard copy version.