October 2011
The Port of Felixstowe has celebrated 125 years in operation and the opening of the new deep water shipping terminal all in one event
On Wednesday 28 September, the port paid tribute with a ceremony and dinner for clients and contractors including Halcrow. There was also a celebration on the seafront for local residents. The events culminated in an impressive joint fireworks display. HRH Princess Anne visited the port earlier in the day to formally open the terminal.
The Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s busiest container port and one of the largest in Europe, operating two modern container terminals, which handle over three million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) a year.
Over 40 per cent of the UK’s containerised trade passes through the Port, and its unrivalled road, rail and coastal connections link it to all the country’s major markets, providing customers with an efficient, sustainable and high-quality service.
The new terminal consists of Berths 8&9. They are the latest stage in the port development and are the only berths in the UK capable of working the largest container ships on order. The berths form the first phase of the south development, consisting of a new 730m of useable quay as part of its expansion of the existing container terminal.
The new facility is equipped with seven of the largest container cranes in the world. Each crane is capable of handling ships with containers stowed 24-wide on deck.
The construction included demolition and land clearance, infilling of the existing dock basin and land reclamation, installation of 2.56m diameter steel tubular piled wall into chalk, installation of services, paving, and construction of new buildings and infrastructure.
Halcrow were appointed by the Port of Felixstowe to provide engineering consultancy services and act as the Employers Representative during both the design and construction stages. This included reviews of the contractors detail design submissions and construction monitoring on behalf of the client.
Halcrow’s project director Chris Boysons said: “We have been very proud to have supported the Port of Felixstowe with their latest development and to be a part of such a successful project”.
HRH Princess Anne was given a tour of the Port and showed a short presentation including a Halcrow video.
David Gledhill, chief executive officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) commented: “As an island nation, a huge proportion of the goods on the high street are imported in containers and more come through the Port of Felixstowe than anywhere else. As container ships get larger it is crucial ports like Felixstowe stays ahead of the game and ensure the UK is ready for the introduction of the next generation of container ships. Failure to provide facilities for the new container ships would mean the world’s most efficient ships could not dock in the UK, driving up the cost of imports and making UK exports less competitive.”
Clemence Cheng, managing director, Central Europe of Hutchison Port Holdings (‘HPH’), said: “The Port of Felixstowe was HPH’s first investment outside Hong Kong, and this exciting new development underscores our ongoing commitment to ensuring that it has the facilities to retain its position amongst the world’s leading ports. Our latest investment will help ensure that the UK remains a direct-call destination for the latest generation of ultra-large container ships.”