A major container shipping company has announced it will no longer use the Port of Felixstowe for its larger vessels from next year.
Maersk said the changes would take effect in February following a review of its Asia-Europe shipping routes. The firm said it had concluded the London Gateway on the Thames estuary in Essex was the most optimal port to serve our customers in the UK. It said it expected to share further details over the next couple of weeks. Due to this change, Felixstowe will not be a part of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s shared Gemini network.
Maersk has not said what this means in terms of the number of its ships that will not dock at Felixstowe anymore. The decision means Felixstowe will see about two fewer large vessels at the port each week. Felixstowe’s quayside has the capacity to welcome the world’s largest container ships which can carry upwards of 20,000 containers. Maersk’s smaller ships, which serve shorter sea routes, are still expected to call at the port.
The news comes a month after it was announced that £1bn was to be pumped into expanding London Gateway, which opened for business in 2013.
It’s disappointing for the Port of Felixstowe and the wider community that Maersk have made that decision. It is one of the busiest ports in the UK and it has a huge offering both nationally and globally.
Whatever the full commercial rationale for Maersk’s relocation to Thames Gateway, it makes it even more important that the rail and road infrastructure in and out of the Port of Felixstowe is the very best it can be to retain and attract businesses, as competition from other ports looks set only to intensify.