Peel Ports Expands London Medway

Peel Ports, Britain's second largest group of ports, has expanded its proposition at London Medway with a GBP5.5million investment to replace the Royal Bridge Pontoon.

The upgrade work includes a new 12m wide, 45m across ramp, which will allow larger stern ramp RoRo vessels to berth at the port and increase the overall capacity for throughput.

It comes as new opportunities in the unaccompanied freight and automotive sectors brings new customers to the port, with the facilities able to support a higher volume of larger vessels.

The forestry industry, which along with automotive, forms the core business of London Medway, has also brought opportunities for growth, with an increase in products including paper and RDF among reasons prompting the investment.

Riccardo Tonelli, Port Director RoRo, Peel Ports Group, said: “The new ramp facility at the Royal Bridge Pontoon will allow us to provide a better service to existing customers, increase volumes and gain new opportunities in unaccompanied freight.

“We’ve always prided ourselves on offering customer-centric solutions that rely on the best facilities, with the investment at London Medway allowing companies using larger shipping vessels to easily access London and the South East to complete their journeys.

“Forward thinking solutions which improve efficiencies and add value to our customers’ supply chains will in turn benefit their businesses and allow us to continue to expand our services to meet their needs.”

The ramp, which has a lifespan of 25 years, was assembled and installed by Ravestein, a leading supplier who have worked with Peel Ports on similar projects at Liverpool and Heysham.

Fieke Engelbracht, Sales Manager for Ravestein, said: “We are very pleased with the way this project has been running. All went very well and as always, the cooperation with Peel Ports was excellent.

“Ravestein and Peel have been working together for several years and hope to continue this pleasant cooperation for a long time”

The investment is part of a string of new additions bolstering the offering at London Medway, including the development of a new £40m forest product hub at Wellmarsh, transforming the former Thamesteel site into flexible storage and purpose-built logistics facilities.

London Medway’s reputation for forestry products has benefitted Peel Port’s national network, with Jenkins, a national logistics provider specialising in paper, pulp and other forest products, set to invest in a £17m new custom-built warehouse at the Port of Liverpool.