Technology and equipment DP World London Gateway Port is a semi-automated facility. It uses robotic, automated stacking cranes to assist with managing containers as they are moved from ship-to-shore cranes and onto and off trucks and trains. Sixteen quay cranes (also known as ship-to-shore cranes), among the largest in the world and built by
ZPMC, are installed along 2000m of developed quayside that has a water depth of 17m alongside. This enables the port to efficiently handle the world's largest container ships, which are now up to 400m long, 60m wide and able to carry up to 24,000
TEUs (or 20-foot equivalent units). In the last three years, DP World London Gateway has handled dozens of these "Ultra-Large" container ships. The port's quay cranes – which are manual but can be driven remotely from the port's control room – have multi-lift capability, meaning they are able to lift up to four TEUs in one go (or two 40-foot containers). The cranes are able to lift cargo weighing up to 80 tonnes and sit on 49m-deep quay walls. DP World London Gateway Port currently comprises three deep-water berths, with the ability to expand to six. The facility uses 78 automated stacking cranes, 39 dedicated to land-side operations and 39 dedicated to ship-side operations. These cranes were also built by ZPMC, with software provided by Kalmar and
Cargotec. There are 234 bays available at any one time for hauliers collecting or dropping off containers. The port also uses
straddle carriers (also known as shuttle carriers), which move containers between the automated container stacking area and the quay cranes. Terminal tractors and trans lifter trailers – which move cassettes, onto which containers are loaded – are used on the port's land side to move containers between the automated stacking area and the port's rail terminal and inspection facilities. An automated gate enables hauliers to access the site by booking a slot through the port's vehicle booking system. The vehicle booking system is provided by Community Network Services. This
electronic data interchange system provides the flow of import and export information between shipping lines, ports, freight forwarders, customs and other inspection agencies, hauliers and rail operators.
Access by road Road distribution is via the
A13 to Junction 30 of the
M25 motorway or via the A13 to the A130 and A12. As part of construction of the port, DP World London Gateway has invested significantly into improving road access to the facility. It increased capacity at the A13/Manorway junction, the main interchange for the port and the A13, by adding additional lanes. It also moved Sorrells roundabout south east by 50m so capacity and access at the roundabout could be increased. DP World London Gateway has also contributed funding to the widening of the A13, a two-year project which started in 2017. As of March 2022 this project is not yet completed. There is an employee bus service which runs from Chafford Hundred, Grays and Stanford-le-Hope.
Reliability and safety The technology employed at DP World London Gateway makes the terminal safer than traditional ports. The automated stacking area means that personnel or hauliers do not have to closely interact with stacks of containers, as this is managed by robotic cranes. This means that adverse weather has only forced the port to close for five hours in three-and-a-half years– other UK deep-sea port have closed for longer periods due to weather.
Shipping services DP World London Gateway continues to expand its customer base. It now offers UK exporters and importers the ability to ship through DP World London Gateway to and from 51 countries and more than 91 ports all over the world. THE Alliance – a container shipping consortium made up of
Hapag Lloyd,
NYK Line,
K-Line,
Mitsui-Osk Line and
Yang Ming – offers services to and from Asia, including China, Vietnam and Thailand. A number of weekly services are available to and from both the east coast and west coast of South America, the Caribbean, United States, Australia, South Africa, Russia and the Mediterranean.
The future Full development of the port – berths four, five and six – will be completed in line with market demand. With six deep-sea berths, 2700 m of linear quayside and 24 quay cranes, the port will have an annual capacity of 3.5 million TEU. It is estimated that when the port is fully operational it will save 65 million
HGV-miles and take 2,000 trucks off the road per day, with economic and environmental advantages. == Rail terminal ==