Port operator recognised for opening new berth at London Gateway and pioneering switch to rail freight at Southampton

DP World wins ‘Port Company of the Year’ award for second time

Football legend Kevin Keegan was on hand to present the award in Birmingham

DP World won Port Company of the Year for the second year running at the 2024 Multimodal Awards in Birmingham.

The awards ceremony on 11 June formed part of the Multimodal conference and expo at Birmingham’s NEC.

DP World’s highlights over the past 12 months include a soon-to-be-opened £350m fourth berth at London Gateway, and a Modal Shift Programme trial at Southampton.

The Southampton trial encourages local freight owners to transport their goods via rail instead of using trucks. To date, it has helped customers and supply chain partners to cut 6,400 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Additionally, both London Gateway and Southampton are going fossil and diesel-free following an operational switch to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

In addition to its two ports, DP World’s offer includes logistics, freight forwarding and European transport capabilities – all of which are being integrated into a global network handling 10 per cent of world trade.

UK chief executive of DP World, Ernst Schulze, said: “With customers facing pressure to manage costs, maintain reliability, and improve speed in this uncertain market, projects such as our pioneering Modal Shift Programme trial at Southampton and the opening of the new fourth berth at London Gateway later this year, which will be the world’s first all-electric berth at a port anywhere in the world, couldn’t be better timed.”