The Thames Freeport has been given the go ahead to formally constitute its board and start operating fully, following the approval of the final business case by the UK Government.

The Freeport is an economic zone located in the Thames Estuary and UK’s largest port – the Port of London. With 1,700 acres of development land, no location can match Thames Freeport for access to Europe’s largest consumer market and its excellent connectivity to 18 million people.

A partnership between Ford, Forth Ports Limited and DP World, Thames Freeport will see over £4.6 billion in new public and private investment, and the creation of over 21,000 new jobs and many more across supply chains.  Significant investment in training and skills will contribute to the ‘levelling-up’ of the communities and businesses in East London and South Essex.

The Freeport has already started to deliver new business growth, generating over 500 new jobs, with six businesses joining its sites that offer a package of financial incentives.  Today’s announcement reinforces the great work that is already in place to boost the speed of investment, through a comprehensive Trade and Investment Programme with international partnerships to boost global trade.  It also recognises Thames Freeport as a centre of innovation, decarbonised fuels, smart technology, and light freight on the river Thames – setting a standard for a green, net zero freeport of the future.

To strengthen the board of the Thames Freeport, three Non-Executive Directors have been appointed to provide strong leadership, governance, and private and public expertise to make Thames Freeport a place where businesses thrive. Their details as follows:

• Paul Livingston, Chief Executive & Chair, Lockheed Martin UK, since April 2021. His global roles at Lockheed Martin have spanned operations, program management and business development.
• Prof Matt Hamnett is an expert in strategy, policy and major programme delivery. He has worked for the Department for Education, in Capita’s major deals team and as CEO of education group.  Since founding consulting firm MH&A in 2018, he has advised public and private sector clients.
• Joan MacNaughton CB HonFEI (Lady Jeffrey) has played an influential part in global energy and climate policy for twenty years at board level in government, business, the not-for-profit sector, and academia. She is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd and a Trustee of the Green Purposes Company. She sits the advisory boards of Equans UK, the Grantham Institute and Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis in the USA.

Levelling Up Minister, Dehenna Davison MP, said: “We’re delivering on our mission to grow the economy and level up right across the UK. Thames Freeport is up and running and will bring high quality jobs, investment and trading opportunities for businesses in the region.”

Rt Hon Ruth Kelly, Chair of Thames Freeport, commented: “Thames Freeport offers expanding businesses in green tech, low carbon logistics and manufacturing the advantage of the substantial investment incentives, streamlined customs procedures and co-location within a flourishing green freeport ecosystem.  The addition of three industry heavyweights to our board as further momentum to our freeport offering. We welcome you to join us in this journey towards a better, greener and global future”

Charles Hammond OBE, Chief Executive of the Forth Ports Group (owner and operator of the Port of Tilbury), said: “Today’s announcement is another major milestone for the Thames Freeport – we are officially open for business.

Over the coming months, we will begin to see the green shoots of the freeport’s land development, infrastructure projects, skills initiatives and innovation programmes take shape. The appointment of a strong management team and board will boost the freeport activity and complement our business strategy, which is centred on accelerating growth in our low carbon logistics offering at the heart of Europe’s biggest consumer market and the South East’s industrial base.

“Freeports can be a real catalyst for change. To that end, we welcome the continued engagement from officials and ministers to refine the process and improve the policy.

Ernst Schulze, UK Chief Executive of DP World, said: “We very much welcome the news that final government approval has been granted to Thames Freeport. As well as further cementing London Gateway’s Logistics Park as the UK’s premier port-centric logistics solution, Thames Freeport will also create local jobs and help ensure that the UK continues to be an attractive destination for inward investment.

 “DP World plans to make £1bn of investment into the UK over the next decade, including the £350m new fourth berth at London Gateway that is currently under construction. We will continue to look at options to enable the UK economy’s global connectivity, create high-skilled jobs, invest in clean energy technologies, and support the development of local industry.”

Tim Slatter, Chairman Ford Britain, said: “Ford welcomes the government’s approval for the Thames Freeport to begin operations, of which Dagenham is a key part. This decision will drive sustainable and inclusive growth for existing businesses along this strategic corridor, and provides huge potential for local regeneration and new job creation. Importantly for Ford and its thousands of Dagenham-based employees, this commitment to the Thames Estuary as the UK’s global gateway for trade will provide green-tech growth, skills development and advance future mobility solutions for our industry.”

Councillor Mark Coxshall, Leader of Thurrock Council said: “The approval for the Full Business Case for Thames Freeport will further unlock huge opportunities for the borough and beyond. It will create thousands more skilled jobs, world class training opportunities and bring cutting edge environmentally friendly industries right on our doorstep, with new public and private investment in the heart of Thurrock.

 “I am delighted that this ambitious project has achieved the final seal of approval and excited about the future of Thames Freeport and the prosperity it will bring to Thurrock.”

Councillor Darren Rodwell, Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said: “This is fantastic news for the people of Barking and Dagenham and for London and the southeast as a whole.

“The Thames Freeport will unlock quality jobs and quality investment for the capital. It is another landmark project delivered for our residents which cements B&D’s place as a major hub for logistics in the capital.”

Councillor Ray Morgon, the Leader of Havering Council, said: “We welcome the announcement of the new Thames Freeport, it is another step forward in recognising a significant area of investment and growth. We look forward to ensuring Havering benefits from this through creating new opportunities for residents, businesses and the wider borough.”

See the Thames Freeport website / Twitter / LinkedIn pages for more information.

21 March 2023

Police Constable Adam Webb, from the Port of Tilbury Police, has this month received the Royal Humane Society’s Resuscitation Award for the heroic assistance he provided, while he was off duty, at a serious road traffic collision in Essex in November.

On 25^th November 2022, while he was off duty, PC Webb came across a very serious road traffic collision on the A13 in Basildon and he stopped to assist. He discovered that a 55 year old women was in cardiac arrest and he quickly rendered immediate CPR and restored the women to life. She was later taken to hospital and is making a steady recovery from the injuries she sustained in the collision.

PC Webb was nominated for the prestigious award by the Port of Tilbury’s Chief of Police Matt Bass who commented: “The heroic actions of PC Adam Webb at the scene of the serious collision demonstrates the very best of UK Policing, when others may have understandably panicked, or stood back hoping someone else may come forward to assist, Adam stepped up, trusting in his training and experience to save the woman’s life. He should be immensely proud of his actions as I am, and the rest of the force and Port of Tilbury are.”

Commenting on his award, PC Adam Webb said: “While I am honoured to have been presented with this award, I am extremely thankful that by using all my years of police training and experience, I was able to save someone’s life.”

20 March 2023                                 – ends –

The Port of Tilbury’s Grain Terminal has reached an important construction milestone with the completion of the concrete slip form for the new silo, which will add a further 34,000 tonnes of automated storage at the busy Thames based terminal.

Once the mechanical and electrical fitting is complete, the new concrete silo is expected to be fully operational in January 2024, bringing a combined total storage on site to 134,000 tonnes, underpinning the grain terminal as the UK’s largest import and export grain handling facility.

The new concrete silo will be in addition to the ten steel silos and flat store with a combined storage capacity of 34,000 tonnes, which became operational in September 2022. These steel silos are filled with a 650 tonne per hour transfer conveyor system which also serves the automated filling system for the 14,000 tonne flat store. The transfer conveyor also delivers grain directly from the terminal to two adjacent customer flour mill sites.

The concrete silo rebuild has been undertaken following a fire in 2020*.

Peter Ward, Commercial Director at The Port of Tilbury said: “We are making great progress towards the complete reconstruction of our busy grain terminal. Once the new concrete silo is operational, the Grain Terminal will be back to full capacity on one site.

“Over the past two years, our team has worked hard to ensure that our customers have not experienced any service interruption and we are extremely proud of the high level of service that we have provided for this important industry.

As the UK’s largest grain facility, we are an essential part of the UK agricultural supply chain for imports and exports.”

The Tilbury Grain terminal has been in operation for over 50 years and is a key strategic facility in the South-East of the UK for the grain import and export markets handling over 2 million tonnes of product from around the world. Grain is a key commodity in the UK food supply chain for a number of uses, most notably within the flour milling and bakery industries. The terminal also operates a monthly coastal shipping service from Tilbury to its sister port in Kirkcaldy, Scotland for Carr’s Milling.

*The fire at the grain terminal was in July 2020 and damaged the silo tower and some other equipment. No one was injured.

6 March 2023                                  -ends-

Local primary schools in Thurrock took part in a challenge to come up with a name for one of the Port of Tilbury’s new Liebherr harbour cranes which will arrive into the port next month (March). The winning name, ‘Giraffe’ was the firm favourite with the port judging team, but they also awarded a runners up prize to the name ‘Big Claw’.

The winner was Rebekah Oppong, aged 10, from Lansdown Primary Academy and Kitty North, aged 8, from Tilbury Pioneer Academy was the runner up. Peter Ward visited the winning schools to present the pupils with their prizes.

There were over 60 entries with 10 finalists chosen including the two winners who were all presented with Port of Tilbury footballs. As the winners, Rebekah and Kitty were given a model of the cranes as their prize and will be invited to the port when the crane has arrived, so they can see it for themselves.

Commenting on the competition, Peter Ward, Commercial Director at the Port of Tilbury said: “We have had a lot of fun working with the pupils from the local Thurrock schools on this competition. We loved all the creative names that the pupils came up with and we were very impressed that there were so many to choose from. We all felt that Rebekah and Kitty’s name ideas were perfect for our new crane. We look forward to welcoming ‘Giraffe’ into the port next month.”

 The new crane is a Liebherr LH150-M-HR and will work across the port. The crane is expected to be delivered to the port next month.

 14 February 2023                          -ends-

Cruise ship calls in 2023 for Forth Ports’ Capital Cruising business on Scotland’s east coast are set to jump by 50%, with around 150 (2022: 100) cruise ships, carrying an estimated 225,000 passengers, expected to visit Edinburgh, Fife and Dundee this year.

The cruise calendar in Scotland traditionally runs between April and October each year and the 2023 season kicks off on 11 April with the arrival of the Viking Venus into the deep anchorage near Newhaven with thousands of passengers visiting the attractions of Scotland’s capital city.

Edinburgh is a globally popular destination and viewed by the cruise market as a “marquee” cruise destination with iconic attractions, events, heritage and culture. Most importantly the city is known for welcoming cruise lines and cruise passengers. The 150 cruise ships will sail directly into the Port of Leith, Rosyth and Dundee’s cruise berth as well as anchorages in the River Forth for Newhaven and South Queensferry.

The 2023 Dundee season will see a bumper year for the city with 14 cruise calls booked, starting on 13 May with the arrival of the Ambition. In 2022, the port welcomed four cruise ships.

The 2022 cruise season saw the restart of the industry after lockdown during the global pandemic. The 2022 season welcomed over 100 cruise calls and 26 inaugural ship visits to Scotland with a further 62 ships visiting their London facilities, which will also see strong growth this year.

The Tallink Victoria 1 Cruise Ferry which is currently being provided by the Scottish Government as safe accommodation for displaced people from Ukraine, is the first cruise vessel to receive a shore power connection within the Imperial Dock in the Port of Leith. By switching to shore power, the vessel is now able to switch off all of its fossil fuel powered generators, and with Forth Ports’ electricity being provided through non fossil fuel generation, this is a significant step forward on the journey to net zero for the port.

Commenting, Rob Mason, Head of Cruise at Forth Ports, said: “It is brilliant to see the cruise industry return so strongly and continue to grow this year and we are extremely pleased that we have provided the Victoria 1 Cruise Ferry with shore power.

 “Since the restart of the industry last year we have been working hard with the city, destination partners and the wider cruise industry to meet all of the industry’s challenges and deliver another successful cruise season. We know that there are significant economic benefits to the country as hundreds of thousands of passengers visit our cities and we look forward to welcoming them this year.”

In line with the cruise industry’s commitment to sustainable tourism practices, significant work is being undertaken to ensure Edinburgh is recognised as a sustainability driven destination, with extensive destination development work also continuing to connect local providers with tour operators and cruise lines.

Recent success has been demonstrated with EZ Bike Tours located next to the port now providing to the Cruise lines environmentally friendly electric bike tours of the city as a shore excursion option. Forth Ports’ commitment to reducing its own carbon footprint as well as that of its customers has already been demonstrated this year with the Port of Leith becoming the first large mainland commercial port in Scotland to provide a shore power connection which allows ships to switch off any diesel powered generators or engines.

10 February 2023                                        – ends –

The Port of Grangemouth, Scotland’s largest freight hub, has delivered a bumper ‘tattie’ season with 65,000 tonnes of seed potato exported around the world from Grangemouth. The busy container terminal grew annual volumes with 150,000 containers moving through the port in 2022.

October and November are the port’s peak months for Scotland’s seed potato trade with over half of the annual total of reefers (refrigerated containers) passing through the container terminal in Grangemouth. Annually, around 3,500 reefers containing approximately 65,000 tonnes of seed potatoes grown on farms across Scotland including Caithness & Sutherland, Grampian, Angus, Perthshire, Fife, the Borders and Ayrshire are shipped around the world.

The spuds make their way from Grangemouth principally to Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and the Middle East and as far afield as Taiwan and Thailand.

As well as potatoes, fish and seafood originating from all over Scotland move through the port in refrigerated containers to be shipped around the world to countries such as China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Greece.

Derek Knox, Director of Operations for Forth Ports, said: “We have just had our busiest period of the year for our freight hub in Grangemouth and the Scottish tatties are just part of the goods we export globally in the winter months. We are Scotland’s largest container terminal and we play an important part in the country’s export and import market.

“We handle around 1million tonnes of food and drink products each year at the port including seafood, spirits, cheese and of course potatoes, being shipped out around the world.  This volume is handled by our efficient and experienced terminal teams ensuring everything is loaded onto vessels on time in order that cargo can meet connections to get to international destinations on time”

The port, which will be a key part of the Forth Green Freeport which was successfully shortlisted earlier this month, has enjoyed significant investment including over 500,000 sq.ft. of new warehousing space opening at the port over the past five years. In December, five new straddle carriers arrived into port to increase its capacity for storing both conventional containers and reefers. The new straddle carriers will replace five of the existing fleet of 16.

Grangemouth handles some of Scotland’s most valuable exports, such as fine foods and drinks, with more than £6 billion worth of goods passing through the port each year including steel plate, timber, paper and equipment for the oil and gas industry.

26 January 2023                                          – ends –

The Port of Tilbury’s London Container Terminal has signed an agreement to use Portchain Quay as their terminal wide berth planning tool for creating reliable berth plans supported by intelligent predictions. Portchain is excited to partner with London Container Terminal to unlock the potential in their quayside operations. The deployment of Portchain Quay is an important step in London Container Terminal’s digitization journey, where several key planning processes will be digitized to promote real-time information exchange, transparency and process efficiency across the terminal.

“As we continue our investment in the digitization of our busy container terminal, we have chosen Portchain Quay to assist our teams in providing reliable real time berth planning and optimization. Portchain Quay will improve the planning process for both the terminal and our customers, providing intelligent real time updates to our planners and more accurate berth predictions for our customers. The initial feedback has been incredibly positive and we look forward to working with Portchain Quay to develop the solution further.”  Ross McKissock, Director of Unitised, Forth Ports.

“We are excited to collaborate with London Container Terminal to help them accelerate their digitization journey, while providing them with vessel ETA and port stay prediction tools to optimize their operations.” Thor Thorup, CCO & Co-Founder, Portchain

 20 January 2023                                                          – ends –

The Port of Dundee’s new road salt import and distribution hub is handling 70,000 tonnes of road salt this year for distribution to Scotland’s regional depots via Scotland’s east coast ports.

Forth Ports has imported millions of tonnes of road salt through the Ports of Leith and Rosyth over the past number of years and this new expansion at the Port of Dundee can accommodate and discharge the large, deep sea bulk transport vessels. The road salt is then loaded onto coastal ships for onward transport to Scotland’s smaller regional harbours and The Port of Aberdeen.

The MV Tina C vessel is a coastal ship which has been being loaded with over 5,000 tonnes of road salt in Dundee for delivery to Aberdeen where councils can then collect the road salt locally.

Road salt is a critical part of Scotland’s councils’ efforts to keep the roads safe throughout the winter period. Thousands of tonnes of road salt, provided by Transport Scotland, are used across the country to keep people and businesses moving when temperatures dip below freezing.

Having salt delivered in bulk to a central location for onward coastal shipping to local ports is a more environmentally friendly move as it significantly reduces the truck road miles and carbon emissions. The shipping of 5,000 tonnes of salt by sea removes approximately 180 vehicles from the road and eliminates 11,000 truck miles on a typical Dundee to Aberdeen route.

Commenting on the project, Kenny Williamson, Senior Sales and Commercial Manager for Forth Ports, said: “The Port of Dundee’s strategic geographical location is perfect for making it the distribution hub for this coastal shipping road salt project. The port can accommodate large bulk vessels (Handymax) with thousands of tonnes of salt and our logistics team manage the discharge, storage and coastal shuttle delivery service by ship to other ports as required. We are delivering to the smaller regional ports and the Port of Aberdeen by ship, which is significantly reducing road truck miles.”   

Shipments of road salt will be made this month to Scotland’s coastal ports to ensure that local council supplies are replenished.

11 January 2023                                 – ends –

The Port of Leith has become the first large mainland commercial port in Scotland to provide a shore power connection, reflecting Forth Ports’ commitment to reducing its own carbon footprint as well as that of its customers.

The Victoria 1, which is currently being provided by the Scottish Government to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, is the first vessel to receive this connection within the Imperial Dock in the Port of Leith. By switching to shore power, the vessel is now able to switch off all of its fossil fuel powered generators, and with Forth Ports’ electricity being provided through non fossil fuel generation, this is a significant step forward on the journey to net zero for the port.

The electrical network in the port has been extended and integrated to the vessel’s systems though a PSW Power & Automation shore power transformer. This setup is being further developed in the port’s Harbour Berth where it will be offered to offshore construction vessels which use Leith as their home port. This further expansion will be online later this month.

The Port of Leith is currently undergoing a major transformation to create Scotland’s largest renewable hub, including the development of a new deep water outer berth which will also be shore power enabled.

David Webster, Director of Energy at Forth Ports said: “As a business we are committed to reducing the emissions from our operations and we are encouraging shipping to do the same. This major civil engineering project to introduce shore power in Leith is a significant milestone for our business in Scotland and we are pleased that the Victoria 1 is now powered by mains electricity. We look forward to offering shore power to our other vessels visiting the port in 2023.”

Minister with special responsibility for refugees from Ukraine, Neil Gray, said: “Scotland has legislated for some of the world’s most ambitious climate change targets and we will be a net zero nation by 2045. This is a great example of business taking action that will benefit us all. We’re grateful for the work undertaken by Forth Ports to make this happen. The MS Victoria is providing safe accommodation for displaced people from Ukraine and it’s an added bonus that it is now powered by mains electricity.”

5 January 2023                                            – ends –