The Port of Felixstowe, in
Felixstowe
Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London.
His ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, is the United Kingdom's busiest
container
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
port,
dealing with 48% of Britain's containerised trade.
In 2017, it was ranked as 43rd
busiest container port in the world and 8th in Europe, with a handled traffic of .
The port is operated by the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company, which was set up under an
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
, the Felixstowe Railway and Pier Act 1875, and so is one of the few
limited companies
In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by shares, the lia ...
in the UK that do not have the word "Limited" in their name. Much of the land on which it sits is owned by
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
, which in the 1930s bought some land near Felixstowe which included a dock that was too small to be included in the
National Dock Labour Scheme. In 1967, it set up Britain's first container terminal for £3.5m in a deal with
Sea-Land Service
SeaLand, a division of the Maersk Group, is an American intra-regional container shipping company headquartered in Miramar, Florida with representation in 29 countries across the Americas. The company offers ocean and intermodal services using ...
. Because container shipping is much more economically efficient in bulk, this early start led to it becoming the UK's largest container port, despite its previous insignificance to the shipping market.
Felixstowe is owned by
Hutchison Port Holdings
Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (HPH; ), trading as Hutchison Ports (), is a private holding company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. The port operator group is a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings (formerly Hutchison Whampoa). Some o ...
(HPH) Group and has always been privately owned. In 1951, Gordon Parker, an agricultural merchant, bought the Felixstowe Dock & Railway Company, which at the time was handling only grain and coal. In 1976, Felixstowe was bought by
European Ferries
European Ferries Group plc was a company that operated in passenger and freight ferries, harbour operation and property management in the United Kingdom and the United States. It was taken over by the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Com ...
. In June 1991,
P&O sold Felixstowe to
Hutchison Whampoa
Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) was an investment holding company based in Hong Kong. It was a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the largest companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. HWL was an international corporation with a dive ...
of Hong Kong for £90m. In June 1994, Hutchison Whampoa's Hutchison International Port Holdings bought out Orient Overseas International's 25% stake in Felixstowe for £50m. On 21 August 2022, the first strike in thirty years occurred when about 1,900
Unite
Unite may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London
* ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993
* ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005
Songs ...
members walked out in a dispute over pay.
The port has its own
Port of Felixstowe Police
The Port of Felixstowe Police is a non- Home Office ports police force established in 1975, responsible for policing the Port of Felixstowe in Felixstowe, Suffolk, United Kingdom.
Jurisdiction
Officers of this force are sworn in as special con ...
,
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
, and
ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
services.
Description
Terminals
The port has two main container terminals, Trinity and Landguard, as well as a
roll-on/roll-off
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
terminal.
There is a continuous quay of over , equipped with 29 ship-to shore gantry cranes. The main navigation channel is dredged to 14.5 metres below
chart datum
A chart datum is the water level surface serving as origin of depths displayed on a nautical chart. A chart datum is generally derived from some tidal phase, in which case it is also known as a tidal datum. Common chart datums are ''lowest astr ...
, with a maximum depth of 15 metres alongside the quay. This allows Felixstowe to accommodate the world's latest generation of deep-draughted
post-Panamax
Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships travelling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...
vessels and the much larger
Maersk Triple E class
The Triple E class is a family of very large container ships with a capacity of more than 18,000 TEUs, which are owned and operated by Maersk Line.
With a length of , when they were built they were the largest container ships in the world, but ...
, launched in 2013 and capable of carrying 18,000
TEUs.
Transport connections
The
A14 connects the port to the
English Midlands
The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
and the
M6, the north via the M1 and M6 and
A1 and via the
A12 to London. The port (as simply "Felixstowe") is signed from as far away as M6 junction 1 for
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
.
Each terminal has its own rail terminal which connects to the
Felixstowe Branch Line.
Seafarers and crew welfare
Seafarers' welfare charity
Apostleship of the Sea
The Apostleship of the Sea is an agency of the Catholic Church. It is also sometimes known as ''Stella Maris'' (Star of the Sea), and its patron is the Virgin Mary as Our Lady, Star of the Sea. Founded in Glasgow, Scotland in the early 20th centur ...
, which provides practical and pastoral support to seafarers, has
port chaplainbased at Felixstowe port.
Current developments
Felixstowe South
In 2008, work began on the construction and reconfiguration of Felixstowe South terminal creating 1,300 m of quay served by 12 new ship-to-shore gantry cranes. Work will be carried out in two stages with 750 m of sea wall complete by the end of 2010 and stage which is expected to open in 2014. This new terminal will have a clearance of 16 m and gantries suited for extra large box carriers.
[
]
Felixstowe and Nuneaton freight capacity scheme
The railway track between Felixstowe and
Nuneaton
Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth in northern Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire and West Midlands County.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's ...
has been upgraded to allow for more
freight trains
Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers.
A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons ( International Union of Railways) haule ...
by clearing the route to W10
loading gauge
A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...
, allowing 'Hi-cube'
shipping containers
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of ...
to be carried between the Port of Felixstowe and the
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...
at Nuneaton. The West Coast Main Line had previously been cleared to W10 and the route from Nuneaton to Birmingham was already cleared to W12.
This work will accommodate additional freight traffic as a result of 'Felixstowe South' expansion at the Port of Felixstowe. It will also allow the newer high-cube containers to be carried by train - and the percentage of these containers is expected to increase from 30% in 2007 to 50% in 2012. Network Rail completed the gauge enhancement from Ipswich to Peterborough in 2008.
Work should be completed by 2014
at an estimated cost of £291 million.
Copdock Roundabout
As part of the Felixstowe South development, Hutchison Ports will provide financial support intended to increase capacity at the
Copdock interchange (J55) between the A14 and the A12.
2022 dockers' strike
The dispute followed the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company offering a pay increase of 5%.
Unite reported that this equated to a real-terms pay cut with retail price inflation at 11.9%. In 2021, dock workers received a below inflation pay increase of 1.4%. In July 2022,
Unite
Unite may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London
* ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993
* ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005
Songs ...
members at Felixstowe voted on industrial action and workers recorded a 92% yes vote on an 81% turnout.
In August, dock workers walked out from the site in the first industrial action of its kind in 30 years. Coverage of the industrial action revealed that some Felixstowe dockers relied on the support of food banks and were struggling to make mortgage payments. Trade union communications by
Unite
Unite may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London
* ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993
* ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005
Songs ...
used the hashtag #DockersDeserveBetter.
In a press statement, General Secretery of
Unite
Unite may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London
* ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993
* ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005
Songs ...
,
Sharon Graham
Sharon M. Graham (born 1968) is a British trade unionist who has been the general secretary of Unite the union, Unite since 26 August 2021. She is the first woman to hold the position. She previously served as the union's executive officer and ...
said:
''The bottom line is this is an extremely wealthy company that can fully afford to give its workers a pay rise. Instead it chose to give bonanza pay outs to shareholders touching £100 million.''
On August 24 footage and photographs recorded a port worker carrying a
Unite the Union
Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union which was formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Unite is the second largest trade union in the UK (after ...
flag surfed in front of an
Evergreen Marine Corp container ship. The footage was published on Twitter by trade unionist and Labour councillor Lauren Townsend and included a sample from
AC/DC's Back in Black.
References
Further reading
BRITISH TRANSPORT DOCKS (FELIXSTOWE) BILLDiscussion in the Commons - 1976
Thinking inside the boxBBC News article about growth of the port
External links
*
The Port of Britain - Official microsite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Felixstowe
Ports and harbours of Suffolk
Container terminals
CK Hutchison Holdings
Port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...