Feature, Freight News, Road, Sea

P&O set to hit high note as it trebles in Tilbury

[ February 26, 2018   //   Chris ]

P&O Ferries has signed a deal with Forth Ports to build a £150 million river berth at the Port of Tilbury which will treble its freight capacity to 600,000 units a year by 2020.

The new terminal will be built subject to planning permission. An application for a development consent order (DCO) for Tilbury2 was submitted in October 2017 for a 152 acre site which was part of the former Tilbury Power Station and will include a new deep water jetty in the river Thames.

P&O Ferries chief executive, Janette Bell, said: “I am looking forward to working closely with the team at Forth Ports to relocate our operation on the Thames to a state of the art new terminal and river berth. Together with our market leading services across the English Channel, this new facility will enable P&O Ferries to offer customers exporting to or from London and the South East genuine alternatives, whether they choose to move their loads in self-drive vehicles or as unaccompanied freight.”

She added that the river berth would cut crossing time by one hour to seven hours and, with discharge an hour earlier at 5am, customers would be able to bypass the morning rush hour on the M25. The punctuality and will be further enhanced by no longer having to negotiate a lock to exit the port.

The planned new terminal will be linked directly to the A13 via a new road and a bespoke layout will contribute to a 30 minute gate to gate turnaround.

P&O recently reported that it carried more freight between Zeebrugge and Tilbury in 2017 than in any other year in the history of the route.

Forth Ports group chief executive, Charles Hammond, added: “As we prepare for the examination of our development consent order for Tilbury2, this new long-term partnership with P&O Ferries provides a strong economic and market underpinning of our intended development plans to grow UK trade and create further employment opportunities within Tilbury.”

Tags: Forth Ports, P&O, Tilbury