The Hutchison Ports UK (HPUK) group has defended its operations at Felixstowe, in the face of mounting criticism from UK fresh produce importers and concern that journey times for produce have increased dramatically because of inefficiencies at the port.
Customers of Felixstowe had complained that the port has apparently been on a “go-slow” in terms of its discharge operations for the past two months, but a spokeswoman for the port denied this was the case. “There is no ‘go-slow’ at the Port of Felixstowe,” she said. Importers had contended that discharge rates had slowed from 50 containers an hour down to 16-20.
“It is becoming a bit of a nightmare,” said one customer. “With the Egyptian season about to start, we are looking at a 12-day journey for the product to reach our customers, when it should be just seven.” He complained that some shipping lines are being forced to discharge at Rotterdam first before calling at Felixstowe, instead of vice versa, but the HPUK spokeswoman said this was the shipping line’s decision and nothing to do with the port.
“Capacity at the Port of Felixstowe is heavily utilised, and the UK needs additional deep-water container capacity as soon as possible,” she said. “HPUK has plans to bring on stream the first additional deep-water container capacity in the UK through its Felixstowe South Reconfiguration scheme, which involves the redevelopment of the southern part of the port to provide 1,350 metres of deep-water quay, dredged to 16 metres alongside. It is expected that the first phase of the scheme will be operational by 2010.”
Port customers have also moaned that reloading onto rail and trucks has become problematic, and that some companies are being fined by their logistics providers and hauliers as they are putting a truck into port and then it is having to wait too long or return on a wasted journey. “We seem to have one good day and then one bad day,” said one clearance agent. “We are having to try and work around the situation and have lorries loading up at night. To be honest, they [the ports] are all as bad as each other.”
But Felixstowe defended its record. “Haulier turnaround times are averaging 34 minutes,” said the spokeswoman.
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