Shipping big Maersk to stop Port of Felixstowe operation | EUROtoday

On Nov 20, 2024

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Felixstowe opened its £300m South Quay enlargement about 15 years in the past

Ashley Pickering A Maersk Line ship with a blue hull loaded with containers and docked at the Port of Felixstowe. A row of blue cranes is on the quayside. In the foreground is the opposite bank of the estuary at Shotley Gate. — Felixstowe opened its £300m South Quay enlargement about 15 years in the past

A significant container delivery firm has introduced it is going to now not use the Port of Felixstowe from subsequent yr.

Maersk stated its operations on the Suffolk port would stop from February following a overview of its community.

The agency stated it had concluded that the London Gateway on the Thames estuary in Essex was “the most optimal port to serve our customers” within the UK.

It stated it anticipated to share additional particulars “over the next couple of weeks”.

Felixstowe has billed itself as Britain’s busiest container port

Mike Page Aerial Photography An aerial view of the Port of Felixstowe, showing cranes, containers stacked on the quays and half a dozen ships docked. In the background are is the village of Shotley Gate and the River Orwell. — Felixstowe has billed itself as Britain’s busiest container port

assertion on its web site, Maersk stated: “This change will affect the Asia-Europe trades under the scope of the Gemini Co-operation.

“During this optimisation course of and our overview of the Asia–Europe providers, we’ve got concluded that London Gateway is probably the most optimum port to serve our prospects importing/exporting cargo to/from the UK.

“Due to this change, Felixstowe will not be a part of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s shared Gemini network.

“The beforehand introduced Middle East-Europe (London Gateway) and Trans-Atlantic (Southampton) Gemini providers stay unchanged.

“The rest of our own operated services outside the scope of the Gemini Co-operation also remain unchanged.”

It added: “There are no changes for Maersk’s own operated services to/from Felixstowe outside the scope of the Gemini Cooperation.”

The firm added it remained “committed” to its prospects throughout the “transition to this new network”.

The information comes a month after it was introduced £2bn is to be pumped into increasing London Gateway and London Stansted Airport.

The Thames Gateway container port – at Coryton simply west of Canvey Island – opened in 2013

Nick Ansell/PA Images A view of the DW World Thames Gateway's cranes - visible behind the drums of a refinery, with housing, trees and marsh in the foreground — The Thames Gateway container port – at Coryton simply west of Canvey Island – opened in 2013

Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, Labour MP for Suffolk Coastal, stated: “We need to be cautious in our reaction [to this news].

“It’s clear that it is disappointing for us, the Port of Felixstowe and the broader group that they [Maersk] have made that call.

“We haven’t heard anything from the Port of Felixstowe about this. It is one of the busiest ports in the UK; it has a huge offering both nationally and globally.

“I’ll be doing every thing I can to verify it continues to be a world participant.”

In a statement, the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce said: “Whatever the total business rationale for Maersk’s relocation to Thames Gateway, it makes it much more vital that the rail and street infrastructure out and in of the Port of Felixstowe is the perfect it may be to retain and appeal to companies, as competitors from different ports appears to be like set solely to accentuate.”

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm20pz5r0kxo