By far the most significant trend in container flows has been the rapid surge in market share for the Far East trades. In fact, at the Port of Felixstowe, Far East imports, notably from China, account for over 50% of all import container volumes, and this trend looks set to continue.

In this sector, the consolidation of freight into ever-larger container vessels has been the most marked. To accommodate the growth in trade and meet the increasing dominance of the very largest vessels in this trade, Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited (HPUK) is investing in new deep-water container-handling capacity.

As UK ports continue to feel the pressure on their deep-water container-handling capacity, HPUK has developed a package of solutions that will enable it to meet its customers’ needs, and maintain its position at the forefront of the UK ports industry.

The Haven Ports Solution

The Felixstowe South Reconfiguration,in combination with the planned deep-water container terminal at Bathside Bay, will provide a significant opportunity for coastal shipping. An increased use of feeder sailings will help relieve the pressure on the country’s busy road network. The combined complex, once developed, will be the only UK hub capable of providing sufficient volumes to support daily short-sea feeder services to the main feeder ports elsewhere in the UK and near continent. The main approach channel, already 14.5m is the deepest of all UK container ports. In addition the facilities are close to major sea-lanes and this provides minimum deviation for our customers. In the future the total capacity in the Haven will be approaching 8 million TEUs per annum serviced by 51 quayside cranes along over 5 kilometres of quay.

Trinity Terminal

2008 saw the delivery of improvements to Trinity Terminal by increasing depth alongside some of the older berths and the delivery of new equipment including the 5 largest quay cranes in the UK at present. The continuous quay length at Trinity Terminal is 2,354 metres, and with 910 metres being dredged to a depth of 15 metres, this enables the Port to accommodate two of the largest container vessels currently in service simultaneously. The Port is now serviced by 30 ship-to-shore gantry cranes – from Panamax to ultra post-Panamax – including 10 ultra post-Panamax cranes. These cranes are the largest at the Port, with an outreach of 22-containers wide, and are equipped with twin lift capability, and a heavy lift capacity of 85 tonnes.

Felixstowe South

The expansion of the Port of Felixstowe is of great strategic importance in the European market and this development is critical to secure additional deep-water capacity for the UK market. This is a significant development for the Port of Felixstowe and marks the beginning of a new era in its evolution. Whilst the Port is already able to accommodate the largest vessels currently in service, the Felixstowe South project will enable the Port to handle more vessels simultaneously, resulting in even better facilities for its customers and securing its position as the UK’s number one container port.

Construction of the Felixstowe South project commenced in 2008. The scheme involves the conversion of the area previously used by P&O North Sea Ferries Limited, plus the largely redundant Dock Basin and Landguard Terminal, into a new deep-water container terminal. The project also includes a third rail terminal on land already reclaimed at the existing Trinity Terminal, and upgrades to the national Rail network serving the Port to increase rail capacity for the Port.

The first phase of Felixstowe South is on target to be operational by April 2010, with the second phase expected to be operational by 2014. The whole scheme when complete will increase capacity at the Port by 50%. More and more of the largest container ships on the market are being commissioned each month, and Felixstowe South will increase - by almost 200% - the capacity available at Felixstowe for the World’s largest ships to call at the UK’s number one container port.

The development will increase the quay length available for container handling by close to 1,000 metres, giving a total quay length at the newly configured Felixstowe South terminal of 1,285 metres. The new terminal will be equipped with 13 of the most modern quayside cranes and 50 yard cranes, and will provide a storage capacity of 46,800 TEUs. Together with the Port’s existing Trinity Terminal, the Port of Felixstowe will be able to provide a total of over 4 kilometres of deep-water container facilities, and total capacity at the Port will increase by 1.5 million TEUs, to 5.2 million TEUs per annum.

Dredged to 16 metres alongside, Felixstowe South will provide the deepest water available at the Port, and will enable Felixstowe to handle more of the latest generation of container vessels. In so doing, it will secure the Port’s position as a major European hub, and will ensure that UK importers and exporters enjoy the full range of direct-call liner services here in the UK.

Moreover, the Felixstowe South Reconfiguration will provide a significant boost to the economy, both locally, and in the Eastern region as a whole. Not only will the proposals help to secure the future employment of all those who currently rely on the Port for their livelihoods, but, when fully operational, the Felixstowe South development will create more than 600 direct jobs, with an additional 860 in associated industries. The Port of Felixstowe, already one of the largest employers in the UK’s Eastern region, is a major driver of the local economy and contributes more than £100 million to it each year in wages alone.

Harwich International Port Container Terminal

The next significant milestone following completion of the Felixstowe South Reconfiguration in the development of the HPUK Haven Ports solution will be the development of the Harwich International Port Container Terminal at Bathside Bay. Consent was granted in 2006 by the Secretaries of State and has a 10-year duration until 2016. The new state-of-the-art container terminal will comprise 1,400 metres of quay with 11 quay cranes, a capacity of 2.14 million TEUs per annum and dedicated rail facility. In addition improvements, funded by HPUK, to the road and rail infrastructure serving the new terminal will ensure excellent connectivity for our customers to the UK’s logistics network.

Sustainable Development

HPUK is committed to expansion through sustainable means, and the reconfiguration of Felixstowe South will be developed in keeping with Government policy on maximising the use of existing facilities before creating new ones.

HPUK is committed to increasing the share of domestic containers transported by rail. In July 2008 the Secretary of State for Transport announced the decision to grant the Felixstowe Branch Line and Ipswich Yard Improvement Order which came into force in October 2008. The works will involve the dualling of a 4 1/4 mile stretch of the existing single-track branch line between Trimley Station and a point west of Levington Bridge and allows for improvements to provide three 24-wagon sidings within the existing Ipswich marshalling yard, and to undertake some modifications at Westerfield level crossing.

In parallel with these local rail improvements, HPUK is working closely with Network Rail to fund gauge and capacity improvements to the route between Ipswich and Peterborough and the East Coast Main Line, and its diversionary routes to South Yorkshire. Network Rail completed the Ipswich to Peterborough gauge enhancement works in 2008.

The capacity enhancement will allow up to 40 freight trains per day to run in each direction by the year 2020, and will help the newly-configured Port of Felixstowe to achieve a rail modal share of 26% - taking 500,000 lorry movements off the road per year.

It is essential that the UK is equipped with the right port facilities to service future trade, and here, at the Port of Felixstowe, we remain committed to achieving this goal.