NEWS FROM THE UK PORTS

October 13th, 2018 by JCB
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LONDON

London Cruise Terminal welcomes a giant of a cruise liner in Tilbury The giant Mein Schiff 3 cruise liner sailed into the London Cruise Terminal in Tilbury this morning (12 th Sept) as part of a seven-night European cruise. The 293 metre ship, owned by TUI Cruises, is the largest cruise liner that the terminal has welcomed. It had an incredible 2700 passengers disembarking for sightseeing trips around London and the local area.

Port thanks local communities for engagement on Tilbury2 The Port of Tilbury, London’s major port, has now completed the statutory consultation process, which invited views from the surrounding communities and statutory consultees on its proposals to build a new port terminal, TILBURY2, on the Thames close to the current port. TILBURY2 will be built on a 152 acre site which was part of the former Tilbury Power Station and will include a new deep water jetty in the river Thames.

The Port has been expanding at a fast rate over the past two decades because it has experienced a significant increase in the goods and products coming through it. As a result, businesses in the port are looking for more space. The port estimates that demand for use of its facilities will increase further in the next 15 years, a demand the TILBURY2 proposals supports.

The statutory process, which closed on 28 th July last year, was part of the second stage of seeking views from communities and key stakeholders. The port will now further develop the scheme in light of all the feedback received before submitting a formal application for a development consent order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate (acting on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport) in the Autumn this year.

Commenting, Peter Ward, Commercial Director at the Port of Tilbury, said, ‘As a major employer in the community, it is important to us that we engaged with as many people as possible in the local areas during both the non-statutory and statutory periods in the past few months. We have had a lot of feedback from the community through our events and the website and I want to thank everyone who took the time to engage with us. We will now develop our proposals for the new port into a formal application which we will submit in the Autumn. We are one of the largest ports in the South East and our customers are looking for expansion opportunities. TILBURY2 is a part of the port’s overall investment strategy to achieve this.’

The proposed terminal at Tilbury2 will act as a satellite of the main port and it is proposed that it will comprise a roll on/roll off ferry terminal for importing and exporting containers and trailers. Tilbury2 is also likely to include a facility for importing and processing bulk construction materials as well as storage of a variety of goods, including cars. The project will also include surface access proposals to link the site to the existing road and rail networks.

More information can be found at www.tilbury2.co.uk

Port of Grangemouth to expand container Terminal The Port of Grangemouth, Scotland’s largest container facility, is undertaking a major resurfacing development as part of its continual multimillion pound investment to further increase the capacity of the busy terminal and to position the port ahead of the market. This £1million investment upgrades the container terminal’s surfacing to increase the quality, capacity and speed of servicing vessels. Further significant investment is planned for this year. The work is being carried out by Luddon Construction and will be finished in October in time for the peak volume period. The new resurfaced area is expected to add in the region of 1,000 TEU of additional capacity.

Grangemouth is Scotland’s largest container port, with an overall capacity of 220,000 containers per annum. More than £6 billion worth of goods pass through the port each year, including steel plate, timber, paper and equipment for the oil and gas industry. The port has also placed an order with Liebherr for a new multimillion pound ship-to-shore container crane and is developing a new IT Terminal operating system, both of which are due in service this year. The resurfacing work will ensure that the landside operation supports the investment in the crane and terminal operating system to deliver faster terminal performance.

Derek Knox, Grangemouth’s Port Manager, said: ‘Our significant investment at Grangemouth keeps us ahead of the market in Scotland. It is important that we deliver fast turnaround times to maintain container vessel schedules and ensure their reliability to service the Scottish export market. The investment in surfacing, crane and terminal operating system to increase terminal capacity and efficiency continues to ensure the port is well equipped to meet the future demands of our customers. We are Scotland’s largest container port and we handle some of the country’s most valuable exports, such as fine foods and drinks, and this further investment in the port ensures a high quality service for our customers. We will continue to invest in the terminal and seek further opportunities to increase capacity, create port-centric warehousing and service improvements.‘

Also included in the investment programme at Grangemouth are three new ESC340 straddle carriers, increasing the fleet at the container terminal to sixteen. The port has also added a new Hyster empty container handler to the fleet this year. The new straddles, empty container handler and the new Liebherr crane will increase the handling capacity for conventional containers and for reefers (refrigerated containers).

 

Latest expansion begins at Port of Felixstowe The Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP, Secretary of State for Transport, has officiated at a formal ground-breaking ceremony to mark the start of work on the latest phase of expansion at Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe. Approximately 13 hectares of new paved container yard is to be constructed directly behind Berth 9 at the UK’s largest container port. The work will include the reclamation of 3.2 hectares of seabed.

Commenting on the latest development, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘This important expansion of Felixstowe continues the port’s impressive record of investment to make sure it is well placed to make the most of trading opportunities both now and in the future. As a great, global trading nation, the UK and its ports are the natural home for international maritime business. It is great to see our largest container port expanding its offering so it can grow and prosper.’

Clemence Cheng, CEO of the Port of Felixstowe and Executive Director, Hutchison Ports, added:

‘Berths 8&9 were the first berths in the UK built to accommodate the latest class of ultra-large container vessels. The creation of additional container storage will allow us to optimise container handling operations between the berth and its supporting yard and further enhance the service we offer to our customers.’

Completion of the new container yard, which will comprise ten container storage blocks and allow 6-high stacking, is scheduled for early 2019. The yard will add 18,000 TEU of storage capacity to the 130,000

TEU already available. The work will further enhance Felixstowe’s ability to handle the world’s largest container ships. The port was the first in the UK to accommodate the latest class of 18,000+ TEU ships and in 2017 welcomed 166 calls by the largest class of mega-ships, more than any other port in the country.

Hutchison Ports is continuing to invest in rail facilities at the port and a new benchmark was set in 2017 when Felixstowe became the first port in the UK to handle more than 1 million TEU by rail in a single year.

100 th Mega ship of 2017 arrives at Port of Felixstowe Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe welcomed its 100 th 18,000+ TEU vessel of 2017 on the same week as the UK’s maritime industry celebrated London International Shipping Week (LISW).

The 18,270 TEU Matz Maersk is operated by Maersk Line on the 2M Alliance’s AE10/NEU2 service between Europe and Asia.

Commenting on the milestone, Clemence Cheng, Executive Director, Hutchison Ports and a member of the LISW Board of Advisors, said: ‘The Port of Felixstowe is firmly established as the port of choice for the largest mega-vessels. We were the first port in the UK to handle this latest class of vessel and continue to handle more of them than any other UK port. 15,000 industry visitors are expected to visit London International Shipping Week and this latest milestone at the Port of Felixstowe helps demonstrate how the UK remains at the forefront of the global shipping industry. The Matz Maersk will be the fourth of six mega vessels we are expecting this week and we are on course to exceed comfortably the 137 mega vessels we handled in 2016.’

The other ultra-large container vessels calling during LISW are the world’s current largest container ship, the 21,413 TEU OOCL Hong Kong, the 19,224 MSC Ditte, the 19,100 TEU CSCL Indian Ocean, its sistership and former holder of the

world’s largest container ship crown, the CSCL Globe and the 19,224 TEU MSC Sveva.

In addition, the Emma Maersk, which set a new standard when launched in 2006, is also due at the Port of Felixstowe. Now with a capacity of 17,816 TEU it is one of over 250 ultra-large container ships to call at the port so far.

For further information, please contact Paul Davey, Head of Corporate Affairs, on Tel no: +44 (0)1394 602063 or E-mail daveyps@hpuk.co.uk / www. portoffelixstowe.co.uk

Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe is strategically located on the UK’s southeast coast and within easy reach of major ports in North West continental Europe. As the UK’s first purpose-built container-handling facility, it is the largest and busiest container port in the country. With three rail terminals, it also has the busiest and biggest intermodal rail freight facility in the UK. The latest phase of development, Berths 8&9, provides additional deep-water capacity for the world’s largest container ships.

Port of Felixstowe is a member of Hutchison Ports, the port and related services division of CK Hutchison Holdings Limited (CK Hutchison). Hutchison Ports is the world’s leading port investor, developer and operator with a network of port operations in 49 ports spanning 26 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australasia. Over the years, Hutchison Ports has expanded into other logistics and transportation-related businesses, including cruise ship terminals, airport operations, distribution centres, rail services and ship repair facilities.