Port of Felixstowe tops 100 million TEU

Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe has passed the 100 million TEU mark since it handled its first container in the 1960s.

The 100th million TEU was loaded at Berth 8, the port’s newest facility and one of four berths at the UK’s largest container port capable of handling the world’s largest container ships.

Chris Lewis, CEO at the Port of Felixstowe, commented, “The Port of Felixstowe has been setting the benchmark for UK container ports since we handled the first Sealand containers in what was then the Dock Basin in 1966. We followed that with the first operational container terminal the following year and have been leading the way ever since.”

Clemence Cheng, Managing Director, Hutchison Ports Europe, added, “Looking to the future we are committed to continual investment, upgrading existing facilities, building new infrastructure and constantly improving systems, equipment and the way we work to deliver the level of service our customers require.”

Berth 7 has been deepened to 16.5m – and in 2021 the port will increase Berth 6 to the same depth and future-proof Berths 8 & 9 by increasing them to 18m, Cheng added.

“At the same time we will be driving forward our agenda to ensure we do this whilst cutting our environmental impact and working towards net-zero emissions.”

The work to deepen berths complements work being undertaken by Harwich Haven Authority to deepen the port’s main navigation channel from 14.5 metres to 16.0 metres.

The additional depth in the harbour and seaward approaches will provide unrivalled deep-water access for the growing numbers of super-sized vessels that serve UK trade.

The port has experienced significant waiting times in recent months: in November Maersk omitted the Port of Felixstowe from its AE7 service due to “exceptional” waiting times until March 2022.

https://www.porttechnology.org/news/port-of-felixstowe-tops-100-million-teu/