Yorkshire and the Humber Minister Rosie Winterton enjoyed life on the ocean waves when she visited Hull to see the huge investment in facilities on the River Humber.

Ms Winterton anchored up at the Port of Hull, where she spoke to representatives from Associated British Ports' (ABP) about the organisation's past investment and future plans for the area.

In terms of tonnage, the Humber ports are the UK's biggest, handling around 92 million tonnes of cargo each year.

Over the past decade, ABP has invested £250m on its operations in the Humber and there are further multimillion pound investments in the pipeline.

An estimated £100m has been earmarked for the development of a new deep-water berth at the Port of Hull, which represents one of the largest single investments ever undertaken by ABP.

The berth will be located next to Dong Energy's proposed power biomass power station and if approved will create hundreds of jobs.

Speaking about the visit, Ms Winterton said: "So much of the country's trade depends on the Humber, which provides a crucial route into global markets.

"Ports and logistics are important growth sectors and the Humber ports have a vital role in supporting our region and the UK, as our economy returns to long-term, sustainable growth.

"This visit has emphasised the importance of the Humber ports, not only to the economy of Yorkshire, but also to the UK as a whole."

After an update from ABP on its operations and future plans, Ms Winterton, who is also Minister for Regional Economic Co-ordination, climbed aboard an ABP pilot vessel and crossed the water to see investments on the south of the Humber.

Landing on the terra firma in Immingham, the MP enjoyed a tour of the port's £750,000 Marine Control Centre.

Opened in November 2008, the centre acts like an air traffic control for the approach to the port.

The ministerial visit was hosted by John Fitzgerald, ABP's Port Director Grimsby and Immingham, and Matt Jukes, ABP's Port Director Hull and Goole.

Mr Fitzgerald said: "The river is this region's greatest physical asset and we're proud that the estuary already accounts for 16 per cent of all the UK's trade, but there is more to come."