Britain's Freight Ports-2
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by David Lowe, mInst TA
JUST 127 years ago this month two ships of the now famous P and 0 Line were the first to enter the newly opened Outer Dock at Southampton. These two were the first of a very long line of passenger ships to use the port but they bore little resemblance to the great passenger liners that we know today, and especially the luxury of such as the Queen Elizabeth II.
Just as we have a new era in passenger carrying we are into a new era in freight handling and shipping; and Southampton, largely through the farsightedness of the British Transport Docks Board which operates and administers the port, is fast becoming one of this country's major cargo ports.
Of the many reasons for the upsurge in cargo trade the one which will, I think, account most for future increases, is the decision by the Docks Board to develop two major types of freight terminal within the port: the roll-on /roll-off terminal and the container terminal.
It is interesting to note some remarks made by the deputy managing director of the Docks Board at a container symposium last year. "A port," he said, "that provides a container terminal because it appears to be the thing to do might find itself sole author of its own financial disaster." Another comment was: -Unless a port finds itself fitting securely into the criteria for the establishment of an efficient, economic throughout transportation system from producer to consumer it should consider most carefully whether in fact it can afford to take the risk." Whether or not these views are the official ones of the Docks Board, one can be sure that they did "consider most carefully" and that they did not provide a container terminal just because "it appears to be the thing to do-.
Quick and regular
The port is in a sheltered central position on the south coast and is one of the world's finest natural and sheltered harbours with a double tide which has only a 13-ft range, sm411er than at any other major UK port. This and the absence of any locks within the port means that ships can easily make quick calls, arriving and departing without waiting for tides. The long periods of high tide, slack water and the deep water channels right up to the berths enable very large ships to berth at any time, day or night, with little or no navigational hazard. These factors enable ship owners to advertise publicly, and adhere to, rigid arrival and departure schedules sometimes a year or more in advance. This is an important consideration for container operations because only regular shipping schedules can lead to assured land transport services with regular programmes of delivery to and collection from importers and exporters premises.
On the subject of land communications the port appears to he well provided for. Railborne traffic will benefit from the Freightliners Ltd. terminal which has recently been established near the container terminal with its express services to London (Stratford) and through connections to most major cities and industrial areas.
Better access
Road communications with the port have improved a lot in recent years, many sections of the major trunk routes having been brought up to motorway standard but there is still a need for much further work to be done, especially on A30, the trunk road to London, and also the northbound route to Oxford and the Midlands. The urban routes around Southampton enable dock traffic to by-pass the town centre and adequate signposting suggests that the authorities have been wise enough to help themselves by helping commercial traffic to keep clear of congested shipping areas.
Southampton claims that its location enables it to serve 25m people within a 125mile radius, an area which includes London, the industrial Midlands, and a large area of Northern France, which is linked to the port by the ferry services.
It is certainly an excellent gateway for unit load and vehicular freight traffic to Northern France and Spain, as well as passenger holiday traffic.
These then would appear to be adequate reasons for taking the risk of capital expendi
ture running into many millions to turn Southampton from an important passenger port into a competitive cargo port with modern facilities for most modes of freight transport and handling.
The container terminal
This terminal, built at the western end of the docks on reclaimed land, represents the largest single development ever undertaken by the Docks Board, at an estimated cost of ;m, with plans for future extensions to provide up to 30 new berths with all the appropriate services at an approximate cost of £60m,
The newly constructed container berth has a 1,000ft quay with deep water right alongside allowing the very largest container ships to berth. Behind the quay are some 20 acres of paved area for marshalling and parking containers. Two Paceco Vickers 30-ton Partainer cranes are provided and approximately 30 containers per hour can be unloaded from ship by these machines. They cost over £200,000 each. Container handling behind the quay is by a fleet of side-loaders, straddle carriers and high-capacity fork-lift trucks. The terminal has a 50-ton weighbridge, while other services include lighting for night-time operations, telephones, water supply and connections for refrigerated containers. A link span is also available, capable of carrying up to 150-ton loads or vehicles using the rollon/roll-off method for ships which are equipped for stern loading.
Two major container shipping lines are currently using the terminal. One is the Belgian Line (Compagnie Maritime Beige), operating a weekly Antwerp-New York service via Southampton; thee other is Atlantic Container Line, a consortia of French Line, Holland America Line, Wallenius Line and Cunard who between them are contributing six cellular ships to operate Europe-North America services, One of the ships is capable of handling roll-on /roll-off traffic and it was for this vessel that the link span was provided in the terminal.
Bonded depot
The bonded container depot on a 2 s-acre site is within the dock boundaries and it is easily accessible from one of the main dock roadways. It is conveniently near to the new container berths and the Freightliner terminal. A 204ft by 78ft building in the depot is used for container packing and for customs examination. Offices within the depot accommodate depot staff and customs officials. The remainder of the site is used as a marshalling and stacking area which can accommodate about 170 containers. Movement of containers and freight within the depot is by means of a 22 ;-ton-capacity travel-lift, fork-lif trucks and pallet trucks. The depot is operated by the Docks Board on a common-user basis and their list of services is as follows.
1. Storage of loaded and empty containers and trailers received from ship or awaiting shipment.
2. Production of containers and contents for HM Customs inspection and clearance.
3. Emptying mixed consignments from containers for individual delivery.
4. Receiving export consignments and consolidating them into container or unit loads.
Ferry services
The four ferry terminals mentioned earlier are in the Eastern Docks, three in the Princess Alexandra Dock and the fourth at 49 Berth in the Eastern Docks. The Princess Alexandra Dock was, prior to the early 1960s, the old Outer Dock mentioned at the beginning, and what is now the parking and terminal buildings for the ferry services was the Inner Dock. With the advent of wheeled traffic—passenger cars, vehicles, trailers and unit loads—the Docks Board had to consider providing accommodation for the cross-Channel ferries which were beginning to emerge and the decision was taken to fill in the Inner Dock and reconstruct the Outer Dock.
Thoresen Car Ferries Ltd. were the first to use the port for their Cherbourg and Le Havre services. Four ships are operated, three of which are conventional ferry vessels and the fourth a specialized cargo vessel. During the peak season, 10 daily Channel crossings are scheduled carrying vehicles, trailers, containers, unit loads and, of course, cars.
Normandy Ferries (Southern Car Ferries Ltd.) operates two vessels on a twice-daily service each way, to Le Havre. All types of vehicles and unit loads are carried.
Swedish Lloyd, which was the first to oper
ate ferry services to Spain, operates two vessels on a three-times-weekly service to Bilbao. Passengers, accompanied cars, wheeled freight, containers and flats are carried.
Wallenius Line, which uses 49 Berth, operates six weekly freight-only sailings to Rouen with two ferry ships.
Trade figures show the important proportion of freight which Southampton is handling and the Docks Board looks well placed to make big strides in increasing its share of sea freight to offset the losses of ocean-going passengers to jet flight. Certainly the 1962 Rochdale Committee recommendations that in view of its natural and geographical advantages it was ripe for development as one of the country's main cargo ports) should be seen to be justified in a very short space of time and just to help things along Mr. E. A. C. Howells, Southampton's chief docks manager, is planning a trip to Australia and New Zealand to wave the flag for Southampton as a cargo port. As well as the future facing Southampton in general, cargo traffics, it must now be considered as one of the world's important new deep-sea container ports, geared to rapid handling of large numbers of containers.