New berths at Felixstowe Port near completion

06 Apr 2011 - Port Planning, Ports, Felixstowe, Shipping

• Felixstowe's new Berths 8&9 nearing completion

• Deepwater quay ready and gantry cranes in place

The new Berths 8&9 at the Port of Felixstowe are nearing completion. The 730 metres of deepwater quay is ready, the first area of the container storage yard is ready, and three of the massive quayside gantry cranes are ready.

A further two gantry cranes are in position and will soon be formally handed over by the manufacturer. The final two for the first stage of the Felixstowe South project are under construction in China.

The focus of attention now is completing the remaining yard area, including a new haulier out-gate complex, and testing the operational IT systems that will be crucial to the efficient operation of the terminal.

Berths 8&9 will open with 730 metres of quay, the development will eventually be extended to 1,285 metres in total. Initially dredged to 16 metres alongside, but capable of being deepened to 18 metres, the new facility is the only one in the UK able to accommodate the largest container ships on order.

The Port of Felixstowe has two existing rail terminals, with a third to be built as part of the overall expansion project. The South Rail Terminal has already been upgraded in preparation of the opening of Berths 8&9.

The most recent development came when Minister of State for Transport, Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, formally inaugurated the latest new crane to be installed at the terminal in January 2011.

The new crane is the latest of a series of investments made by Hutchison Ports at the South Rail Terminal. These have included extending the length of the terminal to accommodate longer trains, replacing older handling equipment and relaying some of the tracks.

As the regeneration project of Berths 8&9 nears completion, a reminder of the ‘old’ quayside has been permanently etched into the ground of the new development.

The area of the former Dock Basin has been paved with red blocks to commomorate the founding site of the Felixstowe Dock and Rail Company. Work on the original Basin commenced in 1882, and the fi rst vessel was worked in 1886, exactly 125 years ago.