Scotland’s largest port, Grangemouth is celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the first container vessel to call into the UK with a further £8 million investment boost in the port’s infrastructure and equipment.

On the 7^th May 1966, the Sea-land freight service called into Grangemouth as part of the Europe and American shipping route transporting mostly Scotch whisky for onward travel to the USA. Grangemouth was the only UK port in the rotation making Grangemouth’s container terminal the first port in the UK to handle goods in this way, with the subsequent development of containerisation changing the way cargo was transported around the world.

Sea-land launched the transatlantic container ship route in April 1966 with four ships in service, each carrying 226 containers with cargoes of cameras, safety razors and pre-fab housing complements. The weekly route was the first transatlantic ship carrying only containers and called at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Baltimore, Maryland, in the US, then Rotterdam, Bremen and Grangemouth.

Over the past 60 years, the port has developed through significant investment and is now Scotland’s largest container port and logistics hub covering an area of 402 acres employing 280 people and is home to 32 businesses within the port. The port is a multimodal facility and is primarily an export port moving Scottish goods to global locations.  Since 1966, the container terminal has handled in excess of 4.2million containers and today its operations manage more than £6 billion worth of goods each year including food and drink, construction products and renewables.

To mark the anniversary, the port is planning to hold a port open day for the community and are working with schools on a project involving the local young people helping the port to name their new harbour crane.

Commenting on the diamond anniversary, Derek Knox, Regional Director, Scotland said: “This is a significant milestone in the history of the port of Grangemouth. Over the past 60 years the port has changed and adapted to meet the changing needs of our customers and markets through investment in not only our infrastructure and equipment, but in our skills. Grangemouth has grown to become Scotland’s largest container port and logistics hub and makes a major contribution to the economy of Scotland. We look forward to continuing to play our part in Scotland’s success for the next 60 years!”

Craig Torrance, Asset Manager for the Port of Grangemouth said: “Grangemouth has changed significantly over the past 60 years from the size of vessels, a move to more sustainable handling equipment, health & safety priorities and people skills. A stevedore from 60 years ago would not recognise the port of today although some things have not changed, we still maintain the same customer focus that we did all those years ago and we still export a lot of whisky from Grangemouth!”

Also happening 60 years ago in 1966:

• The BBC began to broadcast in colour
• Harold Wilson was the UK Prime Minister
• The first credit card was launched in the UK
• The last UK concert by the Beatles
• James Bond’s Thunderball was the number one box office film
• Manfred Man’s Pretty Flamingo was number one (on 7^th May 1966)
• And England won the football world cup!