Hutchison Ports-operated Port of Felixstowe has broken its own record for the most containers handled on a single ship for the third time in two months, achieving a total of 27,961 TEU on MSC Amelia.
“The increasing size of container ships places great demand on port resources and we are pleased with the way we have responded to this challenge. We are continuing to invest in the people, infrastructure, systems and equipment needed to service the growing number of ultra-large container ships on the world’s major trades as well as the increasing volume of containers on each ship,” said Robert Ashton, chief operating officer at the Port of Felixstowe, commenting on the latest record.
Ashton added, “The logistics of such an operation are immense and we will continue to work closely with the 2M partners, Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to help achieve their objectives to supply the current high demand for Far East imports to UK consumers.”
Meanwhile, Hutchison Ports is proceeding with works to further increase UK major container port’s ability to handle the world’s largest container ships.
Harwich Haven Authority is dredging the main approach channel to increase the depth from 14.5 metres to 16.0 metres. Work commenced last year and is due to be completed in 2023. The port of Felixstowe is also increasing the depth at its deep-water berths. Berth 7 was deepened to 16.5 metres and Berth 6 will also be dredged to 16.5 metres in 2022 at the same time as Berths 8&9 are increased to 18.0 metres.
