A major ports group owner and operator in the UK, Associated British Ports (ABP) has appointed a new Divisional Port Manager for ports in south Wales and south-west England.

ABP has welcomed Simon Brown for their Wales & Short Sea Ports (W&SSP) region where the new appointee will have responsibility for port activities across all five of ABP’s ports in South Wales located in Cardiff, Newport, Barry, Port Talbot and Swansea.

In addition the role of the manager includes ABP's south-west England ports of Plymouth and Teignmouth (where offshore cruiseships lay at anchor, see P&O story)

Brown will also be working closely with the W.E. Dowds team in South Wales to grow the role of Newport on the Bristol Channel as the UK’s number one port for finished steel.

Andrew Harston, ABP Wales and Short Sea Ports Director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Simon to our team in the Wales & Short Sea Ports region. He will bring with him decades of experience, which will help deliver an exciting future and drive further growth and economic prosperity in both Wales and the South West of England.

Before joining ABP in November, Brown served as Port Director Mersey for Peel Ports (another UK ports group) where in the Port of Liverpool and prior to that, he had a long career in the shipping industry, working with the Maersk Company between 2006 and 2018. He then joined P&OCL as a graduate and worked in the UK, Kenya, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA before Maersk acquired P&O Nedlloyd in 2005.