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Container turnaround times rising again at Southampton
Page 12
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Concern about increasing waiting times has led operators and drivers to hold crisis talks with managers at SCT. Dylan Gray reports.
OPERATORS AND drivers met Southampton Container Terminal (SCT) managers earlier this month to discuss major problems that have accumulated over the past few months.
John Bailey, depot manager for Maritime Transport, says: "The turnaround is horrendous. It has gone up from one hour in the middle of last year to five hours.Though high winds are difficult to deal with, the main problem lies with the terminal taking too many containers."
Owner-driver John Compton adds: "About five months ago the service was good; now it's abysmal. It seems that SCT has become greedy and taken on extra work without the proper facilities."
An SCT spokesperson admits there have been problems, but claims the situation is now almost under control. -Poor weather conditions, including fog and gale force winds, have adversely affected operations since before Christmas,he says,"This,together with high levels of demand from the Far East. has led to exceptionally high stack levels.
"We have taken a number of measures to assist in returning truck turnaround times to acceptable levels. Subject to weather, we expect to see continued improvements during January" • The Port of Dover warns that its ferry terminal is running at full capacity leaving no room to expand its Eastern Docks after freight traffic hit a record 2.3 million movements last year.
Now the port is calling for the creation of a second ferry terminal at its Western Docks by 2012, in order to continue operating.
Freight totals show growth of 13.6% compared with 2005 while the number of passengers who passed through the port increased by 3.4% to 13.7 million.
Bob Goldfield, chief executive of Dover Port, says: "We have completed a master plan study looking at the requirements of our customers for the next 30 years. This is showing that the Eastern Dock is running out of capacity with no room to expand in the next few years."
The port's plans for the second ferry terminal will be unveiled at a public consultation exhibition and meeting at Dover Town Hail today (25 January).