The Port of Felixstowe has received consent from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) for the extension of its newest container handling facility, berths eight and nine.
The expansion marks yet another milestone to increase the port's ability to berth the next generation of mega vessels.
Commenting on the latest development at the port, Clemence Cheng, chief executive officer of the Port of Felixstowe, said: “We welcome MMO’s decision to consent to the extension of berths eight and nine by 190m at the Port of Felixstowe. This scheme represents the latest in a long line of investments at the Port of Felixstowe. We opened the berths in November 2011 and this new extension will allow us to offer more berth-windows and greater flexibility to our customers. This is an important investment as it will increase our ability to berth a greater number of the very largest container vessels in the future.”
Port of Felixstowe is the only port in the UK to have handled the 18,000 TEU class, the biggest container vessels in service, recently introduced on the Asia-Europe trade.
Cheng added: “Our commitment to a programme of continuous investment has helped secure our position as the Port of Britain. This latest phase of development is designed not only for the latest generation of container vessels, but for those that will follow them in future. With a design depth of up to 18m alongside, and cranes able to span 25 containers across a vessel, this facility gives our customers confidence in our ability to deliver for them in the long term.”
Work on the new quay will commence as soon as possible and it is scheduled to be operational in 2015. The quay extension will take the total berth length for container vessels at Felixstowe to over 3,250m, serviced by 37 ship-to-shore gantry cranes.
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