The sea’s become more salty thanks to an expansion at Port of Dundee.
A new road salt distribution hub is playing a vital role in keeping Scotland moving this winter.
The port’s road salt import and distribution hub is handling 70,000 tonnes of salt this year.
It is transported by sea to Scotland’s regional depots via Scotland’s east coast ports.
Forth Ports has imported millions of tonnes of road salt through the ports of Leith and Rosyth in recent years.
However, the new expansion at the Port of Dundee can also accommodate and discharge the large, deep sea vessels.
The road salt is then loaded onto coastal ships to Scotland’s smaller regional harbours and the Port of Aberdeen.
Thousands of lorry miles off roads
Kenny Williamson, senior sales and commercial manager at Forth Ports, said this has environmental benefits.
He said: “The Port of Dundee’s strategic geographical location is perfect for making it the distribution hub for this coastal shipping road salt project.
“The port can accommodate large bulk vessels with thousands of tonnes of salt.
“Our logistics team manage the discharge, storage and coastal shuttle delivery service by ship to other ports as required.
An example of this is the MV Tina C vessel, a coastal ship which can carry 5,000 tonnes of road salt to Aberdeen.
The shipping of 5,000 tonnes of salt by sea removes approximately 180 vehicles and 11,000 truck miles on the Dundee to Aberdeen route.
Road salt is a critical part of Scotland’s councils’ efforts to keep the roads safe when temperatures dip below freezing.
Shipments of road salt will be made this month to Scotland’s coastal ports to replenish council supplies.
The new facility follows more than £40 million of infrastructure investments at the Port of Dundee.
