Associated British Ports' Port of Teignmouth has celebrated a 4,000-tonne shipment record, thanks to port infrastructure improvements.
The tonnage-handling milestone marks the highest volume of cargo to be exported in a single shipment from the port.
Ball clay will be transported aboard the vessel Pex from Devon, which is home to one of the world's most significant ball clay deposits, to the Castellon province in Spain.
The rare mineral will be used in ceramics manufacturing and related industries.
The feat was achieved in collaboration with Teignmouth Harbour Commission and ABP's customer Sibelco after continued dredging and the installation of an £850,000 (US$1.12 million) Mantsinen crane.
Ball clay is the port's principal traffic, handling about 200,000 tonnes each year. It also handles animal feed, other dry bulks such as grain, agribulks, stone chippings and salt, forest products, heavy lifts and abnormal loads.