The global economic downturn and a decrease of worldwide container traffic has forced port and terminal operators to put a ‘full stop’ on expansion plans across the UK. DP World, who before the down-turn celebrated the start of their London Gateway project and invested heavily in environmental plans before the start of construction, saw the project coming to a halt when its UAE-based parent company Dubai World faced re-financing problems during the recession. And although dredging works have started for the project, progress is slow and there is doubt if the project will be completed over the next couple of years. But it is not only DP World that had some great plans in the pipeline. Bristol Port Company, Peel Ports and Liverpool all had permission to build new container capacity but a lack of container traffic brought uncertainty about the execution of these plans. But it seems that this is all history. As our UK port survey shows, as we see growth in container traffic around the world and in the UK, investments are being made both in capacity and cargo handling equipment.
Port of Felixstowe
The Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s busiest container port with over 40% of the UK’s import and export trade passing through the port. Operating a dedicated container terminal the port plays a pivotal role in keeping UK trade moving. As such the port is constantly investing in its infrastructure. The construction of berths eight and nine in the Port of Felixstowe is nearing completion (see May issue). The berths are equipped with cranes weighing up to approximately 2,000 tonnes, capable of lifting two containers simultaneously up to a total of 70 tonnes and have an outreach of 24 containers. Over the last couple of weeks calls by 14,000 TEU container vessels at these berths have put the large ship-to-shore container cranes in full (testing) action. One of the services that set the cranes in action was the MSC’s Lion Service, commencing calls at the port, and providing one of the fastest available eastbound connections for UK exporters. This service will connect Felixstowe with the Asian market. The service was inaugurated with a call from the 9,200 TEU MSC Bruxelles. “The inclusion of the Port of Felixstowe on the Lion Service schedule is a great vote of confidence for the port and Felixstowe has a unique capability as the only UK port which can accommodate the next generation of container ships. With our new berths in their final phases of testing, and due to come online later this year, we will have additional capacity for these ultra-large ships,” said David Gledhill, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports UK Ltd, which owns the Port of Felixstowe. From July 2011, this service will be upgraded with MSC’s largest container vessels, starting with the 14,000 TEU MSC Livorno. When construction is completed and in full commercial operations, the port will be able to handle vessels even larger than the 18,000 TEU Triple-E class vessels ordered by Maersk. (The Triple-E class will require a crane outreach of 23 containers plus additional air draught for containers stacked on deck). If everything goes as planned, Felixstowe will be the first port in the UK that can handle these Triple-E class vessels, followed closely by ABP Southampton which should have a berth available by 2013, followed by DP World London Gateway somewhere in the (near) future. But it is not only on the terminal that things are happening. Felixstowe is not only investing in road infrastructure outside the terminal but in the whole region (the Midlands) linking it to the country’s major markets, thus providing customers with a productive, consistent and quality service. As part of ongoing efforts to move containers as fast as possible from the terminal to their end destination, Felixstowe received around USD7 million from the EU’s TEN-T fund towards the construction of a new rail terminal in the Port. Estimated costs for the new North Rail terminal are around USD51.8 million and will have an annual capacity of 1.1 million TEU. The terminal is scheduled to open over the next couple of years and is part of the infrastructure improvement as part of its Felixstowe redevelopment project. When completed it will double rail capacity at the Port.
PD Ports expansion project underway
PD Ports has commenced the ground works at its Teesport container handling facilities on the North East coast, as part of a multi-million pound expansion project. County Durham based, Hall Construction Services Limited, successfully won the tender to carry out the civil works at Teesport, which are expected to be completed by late autumn. The works involve the complete reconstruction of over five hectares of terminal area with new heavy-duty paving designed to withstand the increased loads from the container stacks. This is the first phase of expanding Teesport’s container terminal capacity to 450,000 TEU from its current capacity of 235,000 TEU – an investment of over UK£15 million. Subsequent phases will be investigated subject to volume growth and market stability. The port’s overall strategy is to expand port wide capacity, including RoRo traffic, to at least 650,000 TEU, which will position Teesport as a major player in the container market. “We are delighted to see this expansion project moving forward. This latest investment, which will potentially involve some UK£29 million of total investment, signifies a long term commitment to our unitised business, on the back of major growth opportunities. This will further improve performance and productivity for the port’s growing number of customers,” stated David Robinson, PD Ports’ Group Chief Executive Officer. In January PD Ports announced a year-on-year growth in excess of 45% at the Teesport container terminals, adding that port bosses expected to see this growth continue to climb in 2011 as its container handling expansion plans took shape. This latest investment is expected to help position Teesport as one of the UK’s major container hubs. Later this year four Konecranes eco-efficient RTG (rubber tyred gantry) cranes will be delivered to PD Teesport further boosting its expansion plans. These are the first Konecranes cranes of this type to be delivered to the UK.
Southampton gears up for the future
The year started well for DP World Southampton with the news that a dredging programme for berths 205-207 was completed in January. These deeper berths provide greater flexibility for vessels calling at Southampton with almost 80% of the terminal’s quay now providing a minimum depth of 14m alongside. Chris Lewis, Managing Director, DP World Southampton, explains the importance of the dredging projects: “In providing deeper berths at the terminal, we are continuing to meet the ongoing industry trend towards ever larger containerships. These improvements will provide us with a far greater flexibility on where we can position ships that call at the terminal, enabling us to provide a high level of service to our customers as well as maximise the utilisation of all our resources.” Another highlight is the news that two new super-post panamax cranes are now in operation. This now means half of the crane fleet is capable of servicing the world’s largest container ships. The new replacement cranes bring the total number of 22 container wide cranes to six and together with the remaining crane fleet they will enable the terminal to service three ultra large container vessels at the same time. Furthermore, the rail upgrade is now complete meaning Southampton can now handle high-cube containers, allowing more boxes to leave the terminal by rail. Improved GPS has now been fitted on the straddle carriers which, linked to the new operating system, improves the tracking and stacking of containers potentially improving ship turnaround times. And to top off this good start an additional port has been added to Xpress Line’s feeder services from Southampton – there is now a direct call to Liverpool.
Container berth development for ABP
Associated British Ports (ABP) has received consent from the Marine Management Organisation for the construction of a new quay wall at berths 201 and 202 in the Port of Southampton, UK. On completion, the redeveloped quay will be 500m in length with a 16m draught alongside and capable of handling the largest container vessels afloat today. Port Director Doug Morrison welcomed the news, saying: “This consent allows us to press forward with important works at Berths 201/2. With the size of container vessels continuing to increase, the container terminal can no longer accommodate four of the largest container ships simultaneously – this development will rectify that situation by creating the “lost” fourth berth.” The main works, which will involve an investment of approximately UK£80 million, will commence on site in September 2012 with completion anticipated by the end of 2013. The consent was received at the same time as Network Rail completed extensive works to upgrade the rail capacity for containers moving between the port and the West Coast Mainline.
Port of Dover
Despite the continuing tough economic climate, 2010 was a successful year for the port of Dover. The overall cross-Channel freight market grew and tourist traffic also increased alongside a record-breaking year for the port’s cruise business and a substantial increase in the volume of fresh produce discharged via its cargo terminal. Furthermore, when volcanic ash and snow were rendering aviation and rail services unable to fulfill customers’ expectations, the Port of Dover displayed exceptional reliability and flexibility as it managed a significant influx of displaced passengers looking for a way home during these unprecedented national and international crises. Reflecting a continued drive for efficiency, costs decreased while operating profit held firm and the high service levels associated with the port were maintained. Moreover, more than 15 large capital projects were completed during the year, including works to accommodate new and bigger ferries. Also in 2010 Dover Harbour Board approved a UK£75 million investment plan focused on the Eastern Docks to improve capacity and extensions of piers to accommodate the new super ferries. Part of the plan is also to make major improvements to existing berths and completely replace berth 6, as well as major resurfacing works. Unfortunately, the investment made for the Eastern Dock may be at the expense of plans for a second ferry terminal at Dover. Originally, the terminal would be operational in 2014 but this has now been pushed back to 2020. Commenting on the results Chief Executive Bob Goldfield said: “We have achieved a very good set of results against a backdrop of extremely challenging economic conditions and within the constraints imposed by our current Trust Port status. This not only illustrates that the port is a strong and robust business, but that the time is right for us to build on that reputation and success by further growing the business and providing the world class facility that present and future users and stakeholders deserve.” As a footnote it is worth mentioning that the proposed controversial UK£400 million privatisation of the Port of Dover is still under consideration. As a major gateway port AND a profitable trust port it seems highly unlikely that the UK Government would privatise the port as this would make it accessible for other ports or operators to get their hands on a share of a port that is one of the pillars of the British economy.