The volume of containers being moved on the world’s major trade lanes continued to grow strongly in 2007. At the same time, there has been a surge in demand for 8,000+ TEU ships. The combination of these two events has resulted in particularly heavy demand for deep sea container berths.

This phenomenon has been evident across Europe, and nowhere more so than in the United Kingdom. We at Hutchison Ports recognised the need for additional deep water capacity back in 2000 when we commenced the latest phase of our development programme in the Haven ports.

Unfortunately, the planning system for major infrastructure projects in the UK is both very complicated and extremely time consuming. Although Government has recognised the shortcomings of the current system, changes to it could not be made in time to accelerate the delivery of current projects.

As a result, the development of the Felixstowe South Reconfiguration is not as advanced as we had hoped it would be by this time. Despite receiving consent in 2006, conditions attached to the planning permission have meant that, at the time of writing, we have still not been able to commence construction.

However, Felixstowe South remains the most advanced deep water container development in the UK, and will be the first major facility to provide significant new capacity. It is now expected that construction will commence in 2008 and the new terminal will be operational in 2010.

In the meantime, we are taking steps to maximise capacity through the existing port. In 2007 we increased storage capacity to 108,000 TEUs and placed orders for five new ship-to-shore gantry cranes.

The new gantry cranes will be sited on Trinity Terminal and all have an outreach of 22 containers, allowing them to work the largest containerships afloat. Although capacity will remain tight across the UK until Felixstowe South comes on-stream, these developments will help us meet the needs of our customers through 2008.

At the same time as working flat out to deliver new capacity, we are responding to concerns about global warming by taking a close look at our current operation to see how we can reduce our carbon footprint. Shipping is already the most environmentally friendly mode of transport available, but we are determined to drive forward initiatives to improve our own performance, and to provide low carbon solutions for our customers.

Chris Lewis
Chief Executive Officer
Port of Felixstowe