Shipping giant Maersk to cease Port of Felixstowe operation

Ashley Pickering A Maersk Line ship with a blue hull loaded with containers and docked at the Port of Felixstowe. A row of blue cranes is on the quayside. In the foreground is the opposite bank of the estuary at Shotley Gate. — Felixstowe opened its £300m South Quay expansion about 15 years ago

A major container shipping company has announced it will no longer use the Port of Felixstowe from next year.

Maersk said its use of the Suffolk port would cease from February following the “Gemini Co-operation” review of its network.

The firm said it had concluded that 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”.

Felixstowe has billed itself as Britain’s busiest container port

Mike Page Aerial Photography An aerial view of the Port of Felixstowe, showing cranes, containers stacked on the quays and half a dozen ships docked. In the background are is the village of Shotley Gate and the River Orwell. — Felixstowe has billed itself as Britain’s busiest container port

In a statement on its website, Maersk said: “This change will affect the Asia-Europe trades under the scope of the Gemini Co-operation [a review of its network routes carried out with the Hapag-Lloyd shipping company].

“During this optimisation process and our review of the Asia–Europe services, we have concluded that London Gateway is the most optimal port to serve our customers importing/exporting cargo to/from the UK.

“Due to this change, Felixstowe will not be a part of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s shared Gemini network.

“The previously announced Middle East-Europe (London Gateway) and Trans-Atlantic (Southampton) Gemini services remain unchanged.

“The rest of our own operated services outside the scope of the Gemini Co-operation also remain unchanged.”

It added: “There are no changes for Maersk’s own operated services to/from Felixstowe outside the scope of the Gemini Co-operation.”

Maersk has not said what this means in terms of the number of its ships that will not dock at Felixstowe any more.

The news comes a month after it was announced £1bn was to be pumped into expanding London Gateway, which opened for business in 2013.

The Thames Gateway container port – at Coryton just west of Canvey Island – opened in 2013

Nick Ansell/PA Images A view of the DW World Thames Gateway's cranes - visible behind the drums of a refinery, with housing, trees and marsh in the foreground — The Thames Gateway container port – at Coryton just west of Canvey Island – opened in 2013

Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, Labour MP for Suffolk Coastal, said: “We need to be cautious in our reaction [to this news].

“It’s clear that it’s disappointing for us, the Port of Felixstowe and the wider community that they [Maersk] have made that decision.

“We haven’t heard anything from the Port of Felixstowe about this. It is one of the busiest ports in the UK; it has a huge offering both nationally and globally.

“I’ll be doing everything I can to make sure it continues to be a global player.”

In a statement, the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce said: “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.”

Ernst Schulze, chief executive of ports and terminals at DP World in the UK, which runs London Gateway, said: “Gemini (Maersk & Hapag-Lloyd) choosing London Gateway for their Asia-Europe and Middle East-Europe services is a testament to the investments we’ve made to build an advanced, world-class logistics hub.

“Our unmatched supply chain capabilities, operational reliability, and flexibility demonstrate why Gemini has entrusted us with these key services at London Gateway and their Trans-Atlantic services at Southampton.”

The Port of Felixstowe, which is run by Chinese-owned Hutchison Ports, has been asked for comment.