Record load at Bantry Bay

Tarmac's Leahill Quarry at Bantry Bay in south-west Ireland, which was recently the subject of a £12 million investment programme to re-equip the processing plant and upgrade the ship loading facilities, has successfully loaded the largest vessel to have visited the site to date - Foster Yeoman's self-discharge ship Yeoman Brook.

The carrier was loaded with a 60,000-tonne cargo in around 23h. Previously the largest ship serviced at Leahill was the 37,000-tonne Yeoman Bank.

Through their joint marketing venture, Tarmac's Bantry Bay site has access to Foster Yeoman's shipping capabilities and Yeoman have access to Leahill's high-PSV stone.

Tarmac's newly completed asphalt plant at Newhaven, East Sussex, has become one of the latest outlets for Bantry stone. The £1 million plant will serve the urban markets of East and West Sussex, areas currently serviced by Tarmac's existing plants in London and Kent.