Tilbury2’s brand new unaccompanied freight ferry terminal opened for business this week.
The 500,000-unit freight-only facility will inject state-of-the-art capacity into the UK’s ports sector by utilising a truck driver-free operation at a time when infection control is uppermost in everyone’s minds.
The country’s newest and largest unaccompanied freight roll on/roll off (ro-ro) terminal, located at the edge of London, will operate in exclusive partnership with P&O Ferries. The first ship to use the fully operational terminal was P&O’s chartered freight ferry the Norstream.
The bespoke terminal will import and export containers and trailers for the UK to and from continental Europe on P&O’s Tilbury-Zeebrugge freight route.
The new ro-ro terminal is part of a £250m investment by owner, Forth Ports, which is creating a brand-new port, Tilbury2.
The terminal is trusted trader Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) accredited and embraces the latest booking and border technology, such as number plate recognition, which ensures that the terminal is Brexit-ready to continue the smooth passage of goods, regardless of the eventual EU-UK settlement.
The marine works for the new ro-ro terminal were completed in April and successful ship trials were carried out on May 17.
Charles Hammond, Group Chief Executive of Forth Ports, said: “This is an important time for the UK as we emerge from the lockdown. Our new freight terminal is the country’s most modern ferry port offering a seamless and lower carbon route to the biggest consumer market in Europe, Greater London.
“Despite the current challenges we have delivered a resilient terminal with significant headroom to grow as we pursue our vision of being the nation’s strategic freight gateway to-and-from Europe. We believe that this terminal opening is a symbol of hope for economic recovery.”
