At the end of the 19th century North Killingholme Haven was used as a drainage point for networks of drainage canals in the fields in the North Killingholme area – the outfall of the waterway onto the Humber was sluiced. There was a single dwelling at the outfall – the
New Inn. Between 1909 and 1913
Earles Cement works in
Wilmington was supplied with clay from pits at North Killingholme, shipped by barge. Clay dug by hand, and transported by horse, later steam winch and then narrow gauge locomotive to a jetty at the mouth of Killingholme Haven. The disused clay pits are since flooded and now form a saline lagoon habitat, with some scarce birds and invertebrates. Construction and extension of a pier at the haven was consented by the '''''' (
2 & 3 Geo. 5. c. clx); The Admiralty's jetty was to be long by wide with a T-shaped head. The jetty was receiving oil by the mid 1910s. The '''''' (
21 & 22 Geo. 5. c. lxiv) allowed the extension of the existing pier's head, replacing two sunken ships which had been used as
dolphins at the head of the pier. The station soon became an important refuelling point for the
Royal Navy. The oil storage site was served by the
Killingholme Admiralty Platform station from 1930 to 1963. Another act, the '''''' (
2 & 3 Geo. 5. c. clxvi) sanctioned a commercial pier to be constructed by the Yorkshire Transport Company. The company's jetty was to be west of the Admiralty's jetty, , with a westward "L" arm, long by wide, (unbuilt) Adjacent to the Admiralty oil depot a seaplane station was opened in August 1914. Originally called RNAS
Immingham it was renamed as '
RNAS Killingholme'''''. By late 1914 Facilities at the site included a hangar and four
seaplane hangars, as well as a slipway for the seaplanes. Facilities were increased during the
First World War, including larger hangars and further slipways- with staff levels reaching 900 operating over 100 aeroplanes, one of the main seaplane bases in the UK. The facility was disbanded after the end of the war- some of the hangars were used to construct a bus depot in Grimsby (Victoria Street). The riverside at and around North Killingholme Haven has been identified as a viable expansion point for further port facilities on the south bank of the Humber – an £80 million port was proposed in the 1980s but not proceeded with – a report by
Coopers and Lybrand in the same period identified demand for both
roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) and
containerised handling facilities in the area. Later in the 1990s Ro-Ro facilities were established by Simon Group (see
§ Humber Sea Terminal). The haven is currently (2015) used by dredging contractors
Humber Work Boats Ltd..
Humber Sea Terminal (2000–present) In the late 1994 Simon Group gained a statutory instrument enabling it to construct a jetty at Killingholme North Haven. The development was to be a deepwater
roll-on/roll-off terminal aimed at container traffic from European ports such as
Rotterdam. A tender in 1998 from
Edmund Nuttall and consultants Posford Duvivier led to a contract in 1999. The works included a two berth jetty supported on fifty tubular steel piles with a concrete deck; a cellular concrete pontoon secured by two restraining
dolphins consisting of outer and inner tubular steel piles of ring filled with concrete; and a pier linking to land also on piles, connected to the pontoon by an bridge. Shoreside construction was contracted to Clark Construction. The two berth "Phase I" opened June 2000, with
Stena Line sailing to
Hook of Holland. The "Phase Two" of the development was consented (2003); A £9.6 million contract for the third berth was awarded in 2003 to
Edmund Nuttall, with the work including a new jetty, as well as approach bridge and adjustable ramp. The third berth was completed February 2004, consisting of a concrete decked finger pier supported on tubular piles; the design gave a water depth at high tide ( tidal range), and allowed berthing of ships up to 35,000
gross tons and long. By late 2005 clients included
Stena Line,
Cobelfret,
UECC,
Norfolkline,
Ferryways and
Eukor. Planning for a third phase of the terminal, initially estimated as costing £25 million for two further berths was underway in 2005. A harbour revision order allowing a new jetty, pier and link bridge was enacted in 2006. As of 2012 the terminal was owned by
C.RO nv as subsidiary
C.RO Ports Killingholme Ltd.. With effect from 25 April 2022, the C.RO identity was retired, and merged into the parent company CLdN. The port has six ro-ro berths, of port land for development, and facilities that include a
pre-delivery inspection (PDI) centre for cars, and a rail connection. ==References==