UM Terminals prides itself on flexing to meet the needs of new and existing customers.

Nowhere is this more evident than at its Hull East and Hull West terminals, where it is coming to the end of a programme of investment and maintenance.

It is rare for there to be availability at UM’s Hull terminals, but there are currently a limited number of tank hire opportunities, small to large, at the Hull East facility.

The available tanks would be suited to a range of products including gas oil, marine gas oil, industrial heating oil, HVO (Hydrotreated vegetable oil) and mineral diesel. Total capacity across the available tanks is 4,130 cubic metres.

The Hull terminals are part of the UM Terminals strategic capability across the UK with other terminals located at Liverpool and Portbury.

Hull East comprises two sites, the main site and a dedicated methylation site.

The main site provides multiple storage solutions with key products being base oils and lubricating oils while a more recent customer product requirement has involved storing caustic soda. Hull East also offers bespoke services such as product clarifying and blending and has its own dedicated shipping berth.

The methylation facility at Hull East is a lower tier COMAH establishment with bulk storage tanks consisting of Ethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol and Methyl Ethyl Ketone. Bulk products are received by ship to a dedicated shipping berth and taken out by road.

UM’s Hull West terminal provides storage for molasses, vegetable oil and fertiliser products, offering a range of solutions with heated and non-heated storage tanks. The terminal also offers a deep-water berth and dedicated shipping pipelines.

Hull East’s terminal manager is Ben Maynard, who has been with UM for eight years progressing from operator to his current role. He is supported by six operational staff.

Terminal manager at Hull West is the highly experienced Mike Mail, who has been with the company for 35 years. Mike is also supported by six operational staff.

Ben said: “The programme of investment has been across both sites and has partly been about maintenance to ensure our facilities continue to be of the highest possible standard, but also to meet some of the bulk liquid storage requirements of newer customers which have been onboarded more recently.

“The company’s ethos is all about having a can-do attitude and going above and beyond to meet our customers’ needs. We pride ourselves on building long-term relationships and we have many examples, not just in Hull but across all our terminals, where we have grown with our customers.

“Our Hull terminals are ideally located with sea freight proximity to ARA (Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp) and optimised inland road logistics and motorway links to all parts of the UK.”

Mike said: “I have seen a lot of changes to our industry over my 35 years with UM Terminals and this latest programme of investment is about ensuring that we are able to respond to the needs of customers, many of whom are local and who we have built personal relationships with over the years.”

The investment at Hull follows a similar programme at UM’s Regent Road terminal in Liverpool last year.

This included upgrading several tanks to keep up with the demand for storage in the region.

One major enhancement at Regent Road saw the introduction of dual dock loading with customers now able to load and discharge cargo at Huskisson Dock and Canada Dock, reducing delays due to congested shipping berths.

The investment has also supported UM Terminals’ expansion into a broader range of products which now includes chemicals, industrial oils, vegetable oils, fertiliser and key growth areas of biofuels and biofuel feed stocks.

The company is also underway transferring across to low carbon tank heating technology, part of the wider UM Group’s sustainability strategy.

Phil McEvoy, UM Group Terminals Director, said: “There has been and continues to be significant investment in our terminals business, both in the UK and worldwide, and we are committed to further cementing our reputation as a world-leader for providing bulk liquid storage and logistical solutions.

“Our GB business operates seven terminals located in Liverpool, Hull and Portbury, all strategically situated to meet the logistical opportunities and challenges facing customers.

“We are committed to partnering with our customers and this includes a willingness to invest in the right opportunities to ensure the facilities and services we provide match our customers’ requirements.

“We pride ourselves on the quick turnaround from customer enquiry to product in tank, finding the right solutions to meet their varied logistical challenges.

“The investment across our terminals helps us to achieve a number of important objectives, namely meeting the needs of our customers, including new ones we are onboarding, ensuring our capabilities are the best they can be, having the right capacity and meeting our sustainability obligations.”

In addition to its bulk liquid storage capability, UM’s value-added services include biofuel feedstock pre-treatment, blending, water dilution, product packing, HMRC bonded warehouse and COMAH compliance.

• Anyone interested in finding out more about tank availability in Hull should contact Vic Brodrick, UM Terminals’ Managing Director – +44 (0) 151 933 1010 or email vic.brodrick@umgroup.com

This article has also featured in the Summer edition of the Tank Storage Association’s Insight magazine - https://tankstorage.org.uk/assets/Insight-Magazine/Insight-Summer_2025.pdf