Trelleborg Bags Felixstowe South Port Contract (UK)

Trelleborg Marine Systems, part of Trelleborg Engineered Systems, has been contracted by Costain, a leading UK engineering solutions provider, to supply fender systems for berths eight and nine, as part of a £300 million reconfiguration known as the Felixstowe South development.

With global patterns showing that vessel sizes are steadily on the rise, the pressure on ports is also increasing to ensure that infrastructure is capable of successfully accommodating the latest generation of container vessels.

Richard Hepworth, Managing director of Trelleborg Marine Systems, said: “With global shipping trends showing that the UK will need to double its present container capacity to meet demand in 2025, expanding the UK’s ports is of major strategic importance should the UK secure the additional deep-water capacity it requires.

“There has been a significant rise in demand for the new breed of ‘super-sized’ fenders designed to tackle greater load-bearing requirements, brought about by the strong movement towards larger vessel sizes that is taking place. While some ports have been slow to upgrade their infrastructure to accommodate larger vessels, the Port of Felixstowe is well aware of the need to develop its capabilities to accommodate larger vessels.”

The Port of Felixstowe is the UK’s largest container port, which handles over 3.1 million twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers per year. When fully developed, the reconfiguration will increase the quay length available for container handling by close to 900 metres, giving a total quay length of 1,285 metres. Together with the Port’s Trinity Terminal, Felixstowe will be able to provide a total of over four kilometres of deep-water container facilities, and total capacity at the Port will increase by nearly 50%.

With the success of the Port essential for both the regional and national economy, Felixstowe South required the highest quality of bespoke solutions.

With a relatively small coping beam on the jetty, Trelleborg engineers were able to design a solution in order to supply super cone fenders that could work around the requirements of this jetty.

Trelleborg supplied SCN 1400 super cone fenders, which are renowned for their remarkable energy capacity and low reaction force. These fenders have an excellent track record for having a long lifecycle whilst providing exceptional reliability.

The combination of these characteristics made Trelleborg Costain’s preferred supplier for this project. The conical shape means the fender maintains stability under all combinations of axial, shear and angular loading. Super cone fenders are ideal for berths where heavy impacts need to be accommodated – and to support the vessel sizes expected at Felixstowe South, the largest available examples were required.

Felixstowe South already has the deepest approach channel of any container port in the UK, currently standing at 14.5 metres below Chart Datum, it will be dredged to 16 metres alongside the quay wall. This will enable Felixstowe to handle more of the latest generation of container vessels providing a significant boost to the economy, both locally, and in the Eastern region as a whole – securing the port’s position as a major European trade hub.

In working with port owners, operators and contractors from the design stage of a project through to installation, Trelleborg Marine Systems have the expertise to provide a cost effective solution without sacrificing the high quality material selection and product design that is critical to the safety of the port.

[mappress]

Press Release, September 4, 2012