Shipping volumes

[BlueSkyNick]

Per the supplement in the Financial TImes today,

"surging cargo volumes have brought opportunities for the world's goods-handling infrastructure, but have also exposed how much must be done".

Basically there are so many ship movements around the world, the ports can't handle them. There is a reference to Longbeach, CA where there were 50 ships waiting for a berth at one time last October.

In the UK, Southampton "....could soon be handling twice the volumes that had been thought as its maximum capacity."

Should keep the Harbour Master busy at the weekends during the summer!

 

[DJE]

Maybe thats why ABP wanted the extra berths at Dibden Bay. But someone in the planning office doesn't seem to believe them.

 

[Mirelle]

Be warned, I can get VERY boring about this!

I work for one of the very large container lines.

Unfortunately the mainstream Press fired their last shipping correspondent (Desmond Wettern of the Daily Telegraph was the very last, but he retired, and was not fired) some time ago.

The BBC have a full time Space Correspondent, but no Shipping Correspondent.

Consequently they have not got the ghost of a clue.

The Long Beach hiatus was due to (I kid you not) a computer glitch on the Union Pacific Rail Road .

Southampton is not the UK's main container port (Felixstowe is) and the Dibden bay planning enquiry was turned down.

Since ships are getting much bigger, the number of ship movements is not moving as fast as you might suppose.

The other day I happened to notice, from a distance, a container ship moving down Harwich Harbour. "Nice little ship, that!" I thought at once, before looking more closely and realising:

(a) that I manage her - she was one of ours!

and

(b) when I went on board the lead ship of the class, less than ten years ago, I thought (along with most of my colleagues) "We'll never fill this monster!"

We have just ordered 8 of double the size!

 

[BlueSkyNick]

Re: Be warned, I can get VERY boring about this!

I was wondering how long it would take you to make a reply, Mirelle, and you didn't disappoint - or get boring about it !

Its good to see that the industry is on the up, if people like you are ordering so much capacity.

Regarding Dibden, I was pleased to see it turned down for two reasons, both selfish NIMBYism. Firstly, our boat is in Hythe Marina right next door, and the Dibden Bay development would have had a huge impact on the area.

Secondly we live in North Hampshire, and have to suffer the traffic on the M3 and A34 on a regular basis. More lorries travelling to a larger, busier dock area is just not feasible in my view.

WHat I don't understand is why other ports which have apparently been run down over the years cannot be rejuvenated, or new ones created in areas which need the development much more than Southampton. eg in the Northwest such as Liverpool, or the Northeast.

 

[ParaHandy]

Re: Be warned, I can get VERY boring about this!

one answer (but not the only one) is the lack of infrastructure eg rail links to get the containers out of the port ... not helped, one might think, by the bods owning the containers changing the shape of them which makes getting them under 19th century railway bridges erm .. a problem. Stuff & nonsense what johnie furrener gets up to ....

I laughed when a month before the Dibden Inquiry result, ABP innocently espoused the virtues of the Humber ... hello Mr Prescott?

 

[Mirelle]

That deserves an answer

In a nutshell, the UK is the biggest importer of Asian goods in Europe (Germany exports much more to China than we do) so we need big ports but

(a) our infrastructure is rubbish

(b) our planning system is sclerotic.

Right now the recommendations from the planning enquiries for the three major port expansions:

- Bathside Bay (Hutchison)

- London Gateway (P&O Ports - this is the old Shell Haven refinery site)

Felixstowe South (Hutchison)

are ALL "On John Prescott's desk"!

Liverpool is the back of beyond if you are coming from Asia (was fine in the days of the North Atlantic trade, but that is now negligible)

The Tyne and the Tees are the back of beyond, period. 266 tons a day of fuel oil burned, at 25 knots... we are not going to waste time and money going up there.

The Humber is the only place where a new port might be practical. The road and rail connections are not too bad.

The Govt is not willing to spend anything on infrastructure. Millenium Dome, etc, yes. Railways - not a hope!

By way of example, London Gateway will only make sense with £100m on dredging and new road (A13-M25!!) and rail (Fenchurch Street line!!) links.

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: Be warned, I can get VERY boring about this!

You will be able to turn them sideways and walk from Felixtowe to Harwich. Seriously Felixtowe is being extended a bit, and from a selfish yachtsmen's point of view there can't be many major ports where the ship movements are so obvious and where to put your yacht so as to be out of their way is so obvious. But it desperately needs an upgrade to the road route to the midlands.

 

[Mirelle]

You can get two racks of dresses in a high cube box

and only last year did the Powers that be get around to deepening the (very short) Ipswich rail tunnel, to take them.

Manchester United (a football team, for *********!) get pages of coverage when they get taken private, P&O Nedlloyd, bought for three times the money by Maersk, a day later, get a couple of lines.

A maritime nation? Don't make me puke.

 

[Mirelle]

Re: Be warned, I can get VERY boring about this!

And the rail route!

 

[Twister_Ken]

Don\'t worry Nick le Grand

It'll all go pear-shaped when the next recession kicks in and dead containerships are anchored in every creek from here to Bangalore.

Scuttle a few in the right places, and we could have some nice breakwaters for impoverished yotties to moor behind.

Or park some in a line in the Thames Estuary, tarmac them over and Hey Prescott - a new airport. That would be a Darling idea.

 

[Gunfleet]

Re: Be warned, I can get VERY boring about this!

I don't hold out any hope of modern governments of any political colour spending money on rail freight. After all there are domes and olympic bids and all sorts of adventures to send the army on before you'd get round to that.

 

[CliveG]

Re: Be warned, I can get VERY boring about this!

No you can't have the rail route.
Cambridgeshire County council are going to concrete it over between
Cambridge (direct rail link to Felixstow)
and Huntingdon (connection to the east coast main line)
to make a (Mis-)guided bus route!
O and this will cost £85m!

Has the world gone mad /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif