Massive cranes arrive at London Gateway......comments

IF you were in any doubt as to the scale of the operation at the London Gateway then the arrival of three new giant cranes at the Stanford-le-Hope port.

The quay cranes, which are taller than the London Eye and weigh 1,848 tonnes each, measure 138 metres in height – two and a half times the height of Nelson’s column in Trafalgar Square.

“The size of the cranes future-proofs the port, allowing London Gateway to handle the next generation of ultra large container ships,” said London Gateway operations director Tim Halhead.
T
he cranes will be used to lift containers from some of the world’s largest cargo ships onto the shore at the new London Gateway port, which is due to open at the end of 2013.

When complete, its owners, Dubai-based DP World, say it could bring 36,000 jobs to the economy.

1. 

   jmw118

   March 4, 2013 - 12:43 pm

   Its all looking decidingly scary!
   Thurrock doesn’t seem to realise whats going to hit us.
2. 

   PERMAN

   March 4, 2013 - 1:35 pm

   Wouldn’t worry too much they have yet to secure any customers and have been forced to halve their rates! It’s an extra days sailing to Coryton,Felixstowe is nearer has better road links and scope for further expansion. Oh and don’t expect all the jobs going to locals most employees wlll come from outside the borough.
3. 

   gray64

   March 4, 2013 - 4:04 pm

   Perman, I wouldn’t be so sure on anything you have said. Felixstowe may be quicker to get to but the new Port is more modern, has better road links than Felixstowe (on paper at least, though I admit the realities could be somewhat different) and has much better options for cargo storage than Felixstowe (clearance depot’s actually on site rather than miles away). As for jobs, they will go to the best of those that apply, they are not allowed by law to hire on the basis of geographic location. I know of a good many companies already signed up to go into the Port as soon as it opens so I don’t expect it to be a white elephant.
4. 

   jmw118

   March 4, 2013 - 4:26 pm

   I have a friend who lives in Holland, he has been watching a Dutch TV program about our London Gateway. They in Rotterdam are also expecting to lose a lot of trade to what will be the largest container storage port in Europe!
5. 

   PERMAN

   March 4, 2013 - 5:47 pm

   Gray 64 the new port may be more modern but if u are burning more oil to get there that will be more of a consideration to ship owners.Forsee gridlock on the roads out of the port it’s bad enough now without the extra traffic expected,Felixstowe has the A14 linking to the M1 M6 avoiding the car park M25
   .
   With regards to employment I was alluding to our dear friends in New Road who asserted it would bring thousands of jobs for locals which of course is not the case, as u rightly say jobs will go to those best qualified.
6. 

   Lambo

   March 5, 2013 - 1:42 pm

   Surely a port of this scale should be good news for the local economy and the local workforce, the employment levels should be quite high based on the size of the place.

   Only time will tell on the environmental impact this place will have but as long as controlled measures are put in place we should welcome this opportunity with open arms??
7. 

   old docker

   March 5, 2013 - 10:58 pm

   A new modern port that does not want to negotiate via a union………….so when you apply for a job you will be frightened to join a union. What sort of contracts are the workers being offered ???? self employed / casual contracts / banked hours etc. So this is how a new modern Port works in DP World eyes, take a look around the world at their ports as there seems to be unrest / changes / anti union stance and of cause total greed for more profit. To our UK government – yes it’s going to create quite a few jobs but under very inferior contracts & more than likely non UK nationals. Mr Cameron let us make the UK economy grow in our homeland and not put all the profits to the Arabs.