Another Piece in Place in the Construction of Britain's Largest Unaccompanied RoRo Freight Terminal


Pontoon Will Enable Discharge of Trailers at New Facility


UK – Another piece in the jigsaw has been put in place for the new development of Tilbury Docks with the launch of a floating pontoon from a slipway earlier this month from the Ravestein BV yard in Deest, Holland. The pontoon will form the vital addition to join ship to shore for the new RoRo freight ferry terminal being built as part of the Tilbury2 project.

Tilbury2 consists of the construction of a new port terminal and associated facilities on land at the former Tilbury Power Station on the north bank of the River Thames at Tilbury. When operational in Spring 2020, Tilbury2 will be the UK’s largest unaccompanied freight ferry port, the country’s biggest construction processing hub and will see the creation of a new significantly larger rail head which can accommodate the longest freight trains of 775 metres. 

The new pontoon, measuring 55 x 45 metres, will be used in conjunction with the linkspan to discharge freight only Roll On/Roll Off (RoRo) vessels into the new terminal currently under construction by civil engineering giant GRAHAM at Tilbury2. The company’s contracts director, Paul Scott, said: 
“This launch is a significant milestone in Tilbury2’s marine package of works that will enable the terminal’s Roll On/Roll Off function to be realised. Once complete, the floating pontoon will provide large scale capacity for the loading and discharge of RoRo vessels at the terminal, enabling a huge increase in the volume of cargo being transported across the quay. The economic and social benefits of this scheme, not just locally, but nationally, cannot be understated and this launch is an exciting milestone in the scheme’s progression.” 

The Forth Ports project is central to the Port of Tilbury’s £1 billion investment programme which has seen it double the size of its business in the past 10 years and is projected to double the volume of cargo across the quay (from 16 million to 32 million tonnes) and increase direct employment (from 3,500 to 12,000 jobs) over the next 10-15 years. Peter Ward, Commercial Director at The Port of Tilbury observed: 

“The launch of the pontoon is a significant part of the creation of our new port Tilbury2 and we are pleased that the construction is on track for Spring 2020. When operational, T2 will be the largest unaccompanied Ro-Ro terminal in the UK.” 

Photo: The pontoon is launched.

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