Departing Barry Docks
Barry Docks, once a thriving port having the distinction of being the largest coal exporting port in the world in 1913, has nowadays pretty much entered into a terminal decline since the cessation of coal exports from Wales in the 1960's and the demise of the Geest bananas ships in the 1980's The railway embankments have now all been removed for the Waterfront development (seen behind) and a great deal of railway track serving the docks has gone. It is indeed sad that there is nothing to commemorate this once very important coal exporting port. As Tom Clemmet's says in his history of Barry - "All have been victims of progress with no thought of preserving anything for posterity. In fact if it wasn't for the expanse of water left, one could be forgiven for not knowing that Barry Docks was once a port known throughout the world"-www.barrywales.co.uk/tomclemett/disappearing3.asp
It is not all doom and gloom though. Barry Docks is still a key facility for the region's chemical industry, handling liquid bulks for major companies mainly for Dow Corning. Situated on a 160-acre site, Dow Corning's Plant at Barry is one of the most modern and technically advanced chemicals facilities in the world, and the company’s single largest European plant. Container traffic to the Docks was introduced in 1998, which meant that the quayside lines at No2 Dock were brought back into use, the first time since grain traffic ceased in the early 1980's. Hence, the Docks now has an inter-modal railway facility for container transportation by rail to UK deep-sea hub ports. Chemical vessels for Dow Corning use the port on a regular basis and there is a daily train carrying chemicals to and from Barry to Newport ADJ or from the Wembley Freight Operations centre.
Departing the port having discharged her cargo of petro-chemicals at the Dow Corning plant near No2 dock is Bomar Quest (formerly Eships Quest), a chemical tanker registered in the Marshall Islands. Built in 2003, she is owned by Anglo Eastern ship management Singapore and has a gross tonnage of 5,570 tons.
Departing Barry Docks
Barry Docks, once a thriving port having the distinction of being the largest coal exporting port in the world in 1913, has nowadays pretty much entered into a terminal decline since the cessation of coal exports from Wales in the 1960's and the demise of the Geest bananas ships in the 1980's The railway embankments have now all been removed for the Waterfront development (seen behind) and a great deal of railway track serving the docks has gone. It is indeed sad that there is nothing to commemorate this once very important coal exporting port. As Tom Clemmet's says in his history of Barry - "All have been victims of progress with no thought of preserving anything for posterity. In fact if it wasn't for the expanse of water left, one could be forgiven for not knowing that Barry Docks was once a port known throughout the world"-www.barrywales.co.uk/tomclemett/disappearing3.asp
It is not all doom and gloom though. Barry Docks is still a key facility for the region's chemical industry, handling liquid bulks for major companies mainly for Dow Corning. Situated on a 160-acre site, Dow Corning's Plant at Barry is one of the most modern and technically advanced chemicals facilities in the world, and the company’s single largest European plant. Container traffic to the Docks was introduced in 1998, which meant that the quayside lines at No2 Dock were brought back into use, the first time since grain traffic ceased in the early 1980's. Hence, the Docks now has an inter-modal railway facility for container transportation by rail to UK deep-sea hub ports. Chemical vessels for Dow Corning use the port on a regular basis and there is a daily train carrying chemicals to and from Barry to Newport ADJ or from the Wembley Freight Operations centre.
Departing the port having discharged her cargo of petro-chemicals at the Dow Corning plant near No2 dock is Bomar Quest (formerly Eships Quest), a chemical tanker registered in the Marshall Islands. Built in 2003, she is owned by Anglo Eastern ship management Singapore and has a gross tonnage of 5,570 tons.