Since opening 10 years ago, the London Gateway port site has expanded at a phenomenal rate, and according to John Trenchard, Commercial and Supply Chain Director UK, has so far benefitted from $3.78bn of investment. This rate of growth looks set to continue too, he tells me, with a further $1.86bn expected to be invested in the site over the next decade.
Ernst Schulze, DP World’s UK CEO is equally as proud of the 2.7 million sq m of planned warehousing on the port’s adjoining business park, 50 per cent of which has already been filled. That’s the same area as 400 football pitches, he informs me.
When a truck arrives at the port, assuming the driver has already undergone their safety training, he or she uses the automated booking system. Having booked a slot, they are then directed to their personal bay. London Gateway currently has 180 road bays (with another 56 coming on stream next year when berth four is completed), and all are fully automated.
Having backed onto the bay, the driver exits the vehicle and presses a button. At this point the automated stacking system selects the correct container, weighs it, and loads it onto the truck. London Gateway is the UK’s most automated port, and it’s no coincidence that it also has the quickest truck turnaround times.
“Last week, the average turnaround time was 35 minutes,” declares Trenchard proudly. “It is in everyone’s interest to make sure that the fleet of vehicles are efficient, and can do as many jobs in a day as safely possible. We are very proud of how our figures stack up.”
He says of equal importance is a good flow of information, letting people in the supply chain know when customs holds are off, and inspections carried out, deeming containers ready for collection. This data is exchanged live via portals such as DP World’s own Where’s My Ship online service, wheresmycontainer.co.uk, and cargoflowlogistics.com.
“These allow people in the supply chain to plan ahead, and prevents trucks from queuing for containers that aren’t ready,” says Trenchard.
“Drivers are a really critical part of the supply chain,” he stresses, before telling me about the driver facilities at its two UK ports. London Gateway’s on-site truckstop is run by truck and trailer rental firm Hireco, and includes the restaurant Marlon’s Bistro. I can personally vouch for the cleanliness of the truckstop, and the quality of the food, having used the facility on a few occasions for interviews.
The company has recently invested $28m in a truck park in Southampton too, which includes driver welfare services, showers, washrooms and a restaurant.
“Drivers are really important stakeholders, and it’s important that we provide decent facilities for them,” adds Trenchard. “So, when they’re visiting the port they’re well rested, and can be prepared for the journey ahead.”
Although London Gateway is currently served by diesel-powered trucks, the port itself is already embarking on its road to decarbonisation.
“Every investment we make in the company needs to be sustainable, even when it is more expensive,” declares Schulze. “We are a big international company, and we need to take the responsibility, do our share, and go on this journey [towards net zero].”
London Gateway has already made massive strides in this respect. It has 12 electric cranes, Europe’s first electric shuttle carrier (which moves containers from the cranes to the automated stack), and electric stacks. It is also running a zero-tailpipe-emission Terberg tug, with another three units on order. This shifts boxes from the end of the stack, along a private road, and into the logistics park. So, you can go, with no carbon at the point of use, all through the port,” explains Trenchard. “And we are looking to increase this, as all of the equipment at berth four will be 100 per cent electric.”
It’s impressive stuff, but perhaps not as impressive as this final fact: If you line up all of the containers that DP World moves on an annual basis, they would stretch all the way from London to Perth and half the way back again!
Pics: tomlee.gallery
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