Felixstowe To Be Replaced As UK's Largest Container Port?

London Gateway port is set to receive a £1 billion expansion during the next five years, which according to its owners will make it the UK’s largest container port.

DP World announced investment plans this week that will see the port increase from 4 to 6 berths along a quay of more than 1.5 miles long, which will improve its capabilities when handling today’s Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) and potentially make it larger than Felixstowe.

Each berth will be able to cater for vessels of over 400m long, meaning that six vessels can be loaded and unloaded simultaneously. The announcement also includes plans to build a second rail freight terminal.

The company have stated that the expansion will lead to 400 permanent new jobs by the time the project is complete.

The announcement was confirmed despite being put in jeopardy when a government minister called for a boycott of P&O Ferries, a DP World subsidiary, last week.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh was referring to P&O’s actions in 2022 when 800 British employees were replaced, she also described them publicly as a ‘cowboy operator’.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer subsequently stated that these opinions were “not the view of the government”, which enabled the announcement to go ahead.

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