After a number of years of strong growth and buoyant freight rates, 2008 was a much tougher year for the container shipping industry and those that serve it. The credit crunch led to great uncertainty in the financial markets and sharply plummeting share prices which, at the time of writing, were beginning to affect the ‘real’ economy.

However, we remain confident about the strong underlying fundamentals of the global economy and believe that, whatever short term fluctuations may occur, we need to plan for the long term. With this in mind, the start of construction on the Felixstowe South project, which will eventually increase container capacity at the Port by 50%, was welcome news for everyone involved with shipping containers into, or out of, the United Kingdom.

In May 2008 Costain was appointed as the main contractor for the development and, after a number of months of demolition and site preparation, the start of construction was marked with a ceremony on 1 September. When the initial phase comes on stream in 2010, Felixstowe South will be the first new deep water container capacity in the UK since the opening of the last phase of Trinity Terminal in 2004.

We have also taken a number of steps to increase capacity in the short term, before Felixstowe South is available. In 2008 we took delivery of five new ship to shore gantry cranes from ZPMC of Shanghai. These cranes are the largest in the Port and the equal of those to be found anywhere in the world. Capable of handling vessels with containers stowed 22 wide, they provide us with increased operational capability, particularly on the latest generation of container ships.

In addition to increasing the capacity of the Port, major improvements have been made to the road and rail connections serving Felixstowe. The A14 has been improved with new carriageway at Haughley opening in 2008, and the Secretary of State for Transport has confirmed that major capacity improvements to the Cambridge Huntingdon section will commence in 2010.

On the railways, it was announced in October that the 27th daily service from the Port would provide additional capacity to Hams Hall. The announcement came just days after the Port first broke the 9,000 barrier for the number of containers handled on rail in a single day.

Further work has been committed, by both Hutchison Ports and the Government, to improve the Felixstowe Nuneaton rail line and, therefore, connections to both the East and West Coast Main Lines. Felixstowe already has first class road and rail links with the UK s hinterland, and these further improvements, representing a total investment of over £1 billion, will enhance the Port s position as the preferred point of entry for UK shippers.

David Gledhill
Chief Executive Officer
Port of Felixstowe