Container Freight Station

The Port operates a 6,000m2 Container Freight Station (CFS), located on Trinity Terminal. As well as providing extensive container stripping and stuffing services, the CFS also offers modern, state-of-the-art Border Inspection Post (BIP) facilities. It facilitates the examination of cargoes by Port Health, UKBA, Special Branch, Forestry Commission, Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate, Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate and Trading Standards.

The Port has committed substantial investment in the creation of two BIP areas and Reefer gantries to support the two areas – the Temperature Controlled Examination Facility (TCEF) and the Ambient Temperature Examination Facility (ATEF). These facilities comfortably exceed the EU guidelines for BIPs.

The BIP areas provide Suffolk Coastal District Council’s Port Health Authority – whose offices are on the Port – with the means to carry out their duties and examinations within a clean, contained environment. The Port works closely with Port Health, and signed a ‘Memorandum of Agreement’ with the authority in September 2005, which commits both parties to a set of objectives for the timely and efficient inspection of containers at the Port.

The TCEF

The examinations presented in the Temperature Controlled Examination Facility are usually for products of animal origin. These examinations are predominantly called for by the Port Health Authority. This examination facility is divided into two inspection areas. The first of these is a five-bay facility, which is used to examine cargoes for ‘human consumption’, largely fish and chicken. The remaining facility has two bays, and is for the inspection of cargoes ‘not for human consumption’, such as fishmeal and pet food. To avoid contamination, the two areas in the TCEF are completely segregated, with each area having its own equipment.

The ATEF

The Port has built a designated Ambient Temperature Examination Facility within a large warehouse, known as 70 Shed. The ATEF is split into two areas – one for the examination of products of ‘animal origin’, such as canned tuna, gelatine and corned beef, and the other for the examination of foodstuffs ‘not of animal origin’, such as nuts and fruit. For hygiene purposes, the two areas and all the equipment used are kept completely separate.