P&O Ferries and Forth Ports have reached an agreement to move to a purpose-built £150 million river berth on the Thames at the Port of Tilbury, which will increase its freight capacity to 600,000 units a year by 2020.

The ferry and logistics company expects the new capacity at Tilbury to give it an unrivalled service for anyone exporting to or from London and the South East. An application for planning permission for the new terminal was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in October 2017 Tilbury2 intends to build on a 152 acre site which was part of the former Tilbury Power Station and will include a new deep water jetty in the river Thames.

“I am looking forward to working closely with the team at Forth Ports to relocate our operation on the Thames to a state of the art new terminal and river berth. Together with our market leading services across the English Channel, this new facility will enable P&O Ferries to offer customers exporting to or from London and the South East genuine alternatives, whether they choose to move their loads in self-drive vehicles or as unaccompanied freight,” said Janette Bell, Chief Executive at P&O Ferries.

The new river berth will enhance the company’s crossing time by one hour, meaning that its customers will be discharged at 5am, bypassing the morning rush hour on the M25. Additionally, “he punctuality and reliability of the quay to quay service will be further enhanced by no longer having to negotiate a lock to exit the port,” said Janette.
Tilbury2 terminal will be linked directly to the A13 via a new road, which will provide quick and easy access. Customers will also be able to locate their unit promptly with the help of the bespoke layout.

P&O Ferries is a leading pan-European ferry and logistics company, sailing 27,000 times a year on eight major routes between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium. It operates more than 20 vessels which carry 8.4 million passengers and 2.3 million freight units annually.