VTS
Associated British Ports (ABP) is the UK’s largest ports group, owning and operating 21 ports around the country, and handling some 25 per cent of all seaborne trade in and out of Britain. In addition to handling shoreside operations, ABP is also the designated Statutory Harbour Authority in a number of locations, including for the nation’s busiest foreign-trading estuary, the Humber. The Humber contains no fewer than four of ABP’s busiest ports – Hull, Goole, Grimsby and Immingham – and shipping to these ports and others is controlled by Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) Humber.
The
VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) Tower
at Spurn Point was a 24-hour command centre used by Associated British Ports (ABP) to monitor and manage all shipping movements in and out of the Humber Estuary, the UK's busiest trading gateway.
History and Relocation
Wartime Origins
The tower was originally established on the reinforced base of a former World War II Battery Observation Post (BOP).
Operational Role
Until the early 2010s, it served as the primary monitoring station for over 40,000 vessel movements annually. It was staffed by master mariners and equipped with advanced radar and digital display consoles.
Relocation to Grimsby
Following the severe North Sea storm surge in December 2013, which destroyed the only access road to the peninsula, the service was moved to a new purpose-built Humber Marine Control Centre at the Port of Grimsby.
Current Status
The original tower still stands as a derelict structure at the tip of the peninsula, near the Spurn Lighthouse. It is a prominent landmark for hikers walking the 3.5-mile spit.