A Russian ship, the ‘Konstantin Paustovskiy’, leaving Silloth.

Silloth Docks are far from being just history. The port today handles cargo most of which is destined for Carr’s Flour Mill and their fertilizer factory. Innovia Films of Wigton import paper pulp from Spain for use in the manufacture of various protective coverings. Prime Molasses have a facility on the dock side. Here the liquid material, which is used in animal foodstuffs, is stored and then loaded into tankers for distribution throughout northern England and southern Scotland.

The ships belonging to the Ramsey Steam Ship Company of the Isle of Man are regular visitors to Silloth. The Ben Ellan (above) is arriving with a cargo of North American wheat taken from larger ships at Liverpool. Silloth once received grain directly from America until the ships employed on the Atlantic runs became too large for the port. The Ben Varrey (below) is also used to convey grain.

The Potosi (above) is leaving after delivering a cargo of phosphates from Sfax in North Africa which will be used in production of Fertilizer.

Molasses often arrives at Silloth from Bremen where it has been taken off larger ships coming from ports in India and the Far East. The ‘British Shield’ (above) is one of the largest ships to have brought this product to Silloth. The ‘Zapadnyy’ (below) is a Ukrainian ship which is currently on charter and delivers the shipments from Bremen about once a month.

Today Silloth is the busiest cargo port in Cumbria, handling around 80 ships annually. The dock can accommodate ships of around 3,000 tons and up to sixteen metres wide. Vessels as long as 114 meters have been docked successfully.

Photographs © Stephen Wright and Simon Ledingham