an aerial view of Port of Tilbury, looking over London Container Terminal

London’s Major Port

The Port of Tilbury (London) is the largest of 8 ports owned by Forth Ports.

As London’s major port it is also the largest multi-modal port in the South East, and 3rd largest port group in the UK. Sitting on the north bank of the Thames just 22 nautical miles east of central London, it is perfectly placed to handle cargo for London and the rest of the South East, with easy access to the M25 and 18 million people within 75 miles.

The port has an annual throughput of 16 million tonnes per annum and this is estimated to value around £8.7 billion; this makes it the largest port on the Thames. The varied cargoes are spread across an estate in excess of 1,000 acres and are imported and exported by a variety of short and deep sea vessels. Offering operational support for different cargoes, the port can support ro-ro, container, forest products, grain and bulks as well as cruises and property solutions.

Port of Tilbury at a glance:

estate in excess of 1,000 acres
56 operational berths
31 independent working terminals
10.2km of quay
5million sqft of warehouse space

Closest port to London

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Through bespoke consolidation and portcentric solutions, the port provides supply chain solutions for a diverse range of sectors. Underpinning these portcentric solutions is 5 million square feet of undercover warehousing and strong multimodal transportation links by road, rail and barge. These connections remove complexity from the supply chain, reduce stock holding and journey miles and ultimately results in lower costs and a more environmentally friendly service for our customers.

The port’s distribution solutions are facilitated by three onsite railheads that allow connection to the main line directly into London or on to anywhere in the UK. Excellent road connections, with the M25 accessible by less than 10 miles of dual carriageway and barging options straight into the heart of London, complete the port’s outstanding distribution network. Barging is known to reduce CO² emissions, the number of vehicles on roads and also therefore the number of associated incidents and fatalities.

Furthermore, its conscientious approach to the environment makes the Port of Tilbury the UK’s greenest port: the majority of its electricity is generated through its 4 wind turbines, and there is ongoing investment in power, water, and fuel saving solutions at the port. Not only has the port taken steps to reduce its energy footprint, the Port of Tilbury is an active member of Essex Wildlife Trust and achieved zero net loss of wildlife when developing the 70 acres of the London Distribution Park.

Such infrastructure links, portcentric methods, and environmentally aware operations ensure we provide cost-effective and ethically responsible solutions for our customers.

The port has operated for over 130 years and has a long relationship with Tilbury town around it, which continues today. The port sponsors the local rugby and football clubs, it funds the wreaths for local remembrance parades, and senior managers work as governors at local schools and actively take part in other community-led initiatives. The historical connection to the town is also shown through Britain’s oldest police force, which is funded by the port and has 15 warranted officers.

The port is a key employer in the local area and has offered over 100 apprenticeship programmes in the last 36 months. Investment in staff and the community can be seen through the locality of the staff, where 60% of the key managers at the port live within 10 miles. Encouraging growth and development, the port offers opportunities for fantastic long-term careers; 49% of staff now have over 10 years’ service and nearly 75% of the senior management started in a shop floor role.

The Port of Tilbury in February 2019 obtained approval under a development consent order (DCO) from the Planning Inspectorate to build a new terminal adjacent to the current port in Thurrock. Our new port, known as Tilbury2, has be built on a 152-acre site which was part of the former Tilbury Power Station. Tilbury2 acts as a satellite of the main port, comprising of a:

Roll on/roll off ferry terminal for importing and exporting containers and trailers
Construction Materials and Aggregate Terminal (CMAT) for importing, processing, manufacturing and distributing construction materials
New nationally strategic rail and road connection into the site

Track your Container/Unit Online

Do you require up-to-date information on the status of your container/unit within Forth Ports Container Terminals or at our RoRo Terminal at Tilbury2?

If so, clicking on the button below will provide direct access to real-time container/unit status information from our state of the art Group Container Systems at Tilbury (London Container Terminal and Tilbury2 RoRo Terminal) or Port of Grangemouth in Scotland.

You can enquire by Container/Unit Number or Booking Reference on up to 50 containers/units or booking references at once with the option to cut and paste.

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Port of Tilbury (London) Services

Click the appropriate icon below to read more.

Automotive

The port plays a vital role in the automotive sector with over 100,000 cars moving through the port each year. The UK’s only import centre for Hyundai vehicles is situated within the port with cars arriving by both deep sea and short sea. In addition to this, the port provides value added service to a number of car and heavy plant and equipment companies to support the import and export of automotives through the port.

Breakbulk & Project Cargo

The Port of Tilbury has been the gateway for several major projects: it was the Logistics consolidation hub for the London 2012 Olympic Games, Thames Tideway Tunnel, the building of Canary Wharf and Crossrail. However, it does not only focus on major infrastructure projects; it offers heavy lift services to a range of sectors handling everything from generators, wind turbines, tunnel boring machines to modular units.

Construction Hub

Containers

London Container Terminal is one of the UK’s largest container terminals, handling goods from across Europe, West Africa, South America, Asia & the Caribbean on behalf of some of the world’s leading brands and retailers. The terminal delivers the UK’s fastest and most resilient landside operations providing operators with a competitive delivery advantage alongside rail options to the UK’s leading inland destinations. For perishable cargoes Tilbury is recognised as a leader in the provision of reefer and value add services with 1,400 reefer points on site.

Cruise

The only deep sea cruise terminal close to London is part of the Port of Tilbury; the historic London International Cruise Terminal is a listed building and over 100,000 passengers travel through the terminal per year. Capital Cruising (which operates through London International Cruise Terminal) has access to London City Moorings and therefore Capital Cruising can offer London City views on arrival.

Forest Products

The port has a wealth of expertise in the forest products sector and is the main UK import location for a range of forest product customers. At Tilbury we offer a diverse range of handling, storage and distribution solutions, playing a pinnacle role in supporting our customers’ supply chains across the UK.

We have a strong history of providing value added services to customers including a specialised treatment centre onsite. With the capability to handle plywood and timber of all types including materials for flooring to bespoke structure timbers. We also have the flexibility to handle unitised, ro-ro and deep sea general cargo shipments. Our key trade areas include the Baltics, Scandinavia, Far East, Africa and the Americas.

Grain & Dry Bulk

The port plays a vital role in the UK grain market through the largest combined import and export grain terminal in the UK, which has its own dedicated riverside deep water berth and 200 separate silos capable of holding between 60 to 200mt of grain, resulting in a yearly capacity of 2 million tonnes split evenly between import and export. It is capable of handling deep sea vessels up to 70,000 mt with draughts of up to 12.5m on the river through its dedicated jetty and has two dedicated coaster loading berths – both for import or export. The Grain Terminal is currently expanding to include a flat store with capacity for a further 15,000 tonne capacity. 6 bulk handling berths and 7.4 acres cater for the range of dry bulk services and operations and are serviced by two harbour mobile and three Sennebogen hydraulic mobile cranes, making it a specialist in aggregates, cement, animal feed and recycled goods. The port handles 750,000 tonnes of bulk aggregates and 2 million tonnes of recycled products and facilitates these through its specialised warehousing such as its 60,000 tonne animal feed shed in addition to the 10,000 tonne of quay side storage. All of this storage is coupled with mobile hoppers and conveyors for quick and efficient discharge as well as a dedicated rail terminal with 5,600 tonne of stock piling space across 8 separate concrete bays. As part of the Tilbury2 development we will be building a Construction Materials and Aggregates Terminal (CMAT) for handling and processing bulk construction material with a new deep water aggregate river berth.

Inland Warterborne Freight

Learning & Development

The Port of Tilbury is home to our award winning Logistics Training Academy, offering a range of training and educational programmes from technical and apprenticeship through to leadership and management, including a Supply Chain Logistics Degree. The Academy reaches out to local communities and businesses to promote the excellent opportunities for long term careers in the ports and logistics centre.

Liquid Bulks

Marine & Anchorage

The Port of Tilbury is located on the Lower Thames and is the largest Port on the River, handling over 20 million tonnes per annum. As a statutory Port Authority we offer a wide range of services for our customers. The Marine department offer a 24-7 service with a wide range of berths for a range of cargo types. Offering 47 berths the dock is accessed through as lock entrance 3 different lock options, with the ability to accommodate vessels of panamax size, and up to 10.5m draft. There are also 7 river berths which can take up to 12.5m draft vessels. Layby berths are also available on request.

Paper

Through our UK Paper Hub, we provide world-class services to the paper and forest product industry. With over 50 years of experience, we are able to offer our expertise and provide end-to-end supply chain solutions to all of our customers. Our offering includes the use of 50 acres of custom designed facilities, complete with dedicated berths, the world’s first port based automated warehouse for paper products, as well as traditional manual warehousing options. Combined with our custom designed paper handling equipment, strong logistical network and our portfolio of value added services, we are able to handle over 1 million tonnes of paper and forest products (including graphical paper, packaging paper and board, tissue and pulp) per year, making UK Paper Hub the natural shipping and distribution point for the industry.

Property

Rail

Being able to offer a sustainable onward distribution solution from Tilbury is important to us. So that is why the port operates 3 railhead terminals within dock to support the handling of a range of freight trains. Our Container Terminal (LCT), operates an intermodal railhead within the terminal which can also offer cross-dock facilities. We also have a bespoke bulk railhead supporting the construction and waste sector.

Later this year a new railhead will be opening at Tilbury2 to support onward distribution from our ro-ro and CMAT terminal with intermodal and bulk train movements.

RDF & Waste

Renewables

With expertise in handling and storing a range of project cargo and carrying out heavy lift the port is well places to assist with renewable projects. Through the excellent worldwide service routes into the port and good intermodal connections, the port is able to offer the services to support consolidation centres and fit hubs for a diverse range of renewable projects. The port itself has 4 wind turbines located within the port providing up to 60% of the port’s electricity needs.

Ro-Ro

The port hosts 16 freight services per week from Europe, including two daily ferries from Zeebrugge for P&O, a bi-weekly service serving Scandinavia and a weekly calls from Africa and South America. The port handle the import and export of cars and heavy plant equipment for a number of market leaders. To support growth in this sectors, a new ro-ro Terminal has been built for P&O Ferries as part of the Tilbury2 development creating a new deep water ro-ro river berth.

Warehousing & Storage

The Port of Tilbury provides a variety of warehousing solutions for both inside and outside the Port’s boundary. Our warehousing solutions compliment our customers’ varied cargoes and provide the highest standards. All customers, regardless of the cargo type, have an effective portcentric solution that adds value and efficiencies within their supply chain and allows customers to be environmentally friendly.

Other Activities at the Port

Take an aerial tour of Tilbury

Please take a look at Port of Tilbury from the air. Our aerial tour will guide you through the business areas within the Port of Tilbury.

Check out our Handbook 2020/21

An overview of activities and services from the Port of Tilbury

Port of Tilbury Police

The Port of Tilbury Police is one of the oldest land Police force in the UK being established in 1802. Up until the 1960’s the force was the third largest in the country.

Today the Port of Tilbury Police consists of fifteen warranted officers who are privately funded by Forth Ports. They work closely alongside UK Border Force, The National Crime Agency and Special Branch. Our officers are fully trained to Home Office Standards receiving their initial training alongside Essex colleagues with whom they maintain a close working relationship, regularly assisting them responding to emergency calls within the Tilbury area.

The Port of Tilbury Police provide a specialist policing function which includes investigating, detecting, arresting and prosecuting offenders; providing a safe and secure environment for all businesses and people working and operating within the port estate.

During the past 18 months, the Port of Tilbury Police have developed a community style policing role that has enabled the port to share best practice in areas such as intelligence gathering, crime prevention and its response to incidents.

Our modern vehicle fleet carries medical gases, defibrillators and comprehensive first aid kits as well as environmental spill protection equipment.

The port is covered and controlled by a modern equipped control room serving in excess of 500 cameras and 6 Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras.

In 2002 the Port of Tilbury Police were awarded the prestigious award of the Freeman of the Borough of Thurrock, one of only five holders of such distinguished award.

Key Contacts

Paul Dale
Asset & Site Director
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852218

[email protected]

Peter Ward
Commercial Director
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852485

[email protected]

Mark Faraway
Senior Commercial Manager
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852313

[email protected]

Danny Champion
Asset Manager, UK Paper Hub
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852403

[email protected]

Nick Evans
Asset Manager, Marine
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852447

[email protected]

Steve Lyons
Head of Cruise & Senior Development Manager
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852308

[email protected]

Ross McKissock
Director of Unitised
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 854702

[email protected]

John Russell
Asset Manager, UK Paper Hub
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852291

[email protected]

John Speakman
Senior Asset Manager, Property
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852379

[email protected]

Gary Vincent
Asset Manager, Grain & Bulks
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852293

[email protected]

Shaun Wood
Asset Manager, Conventional
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852316

[email protected]

Simon Harper
Group Learning & Development Manager
Port of Tilbury London Limited
Leslie Ford House
Tilbury
Essex
RM18 7EH

Tel: +44 (0)1375 852401

[email protected]

Useful Links

POTLL Contact Numbers

Tilbury2

London Container Terminal

Track your Container Online

Capital Cruising

Tilbury on the Thames Trust

Attention to Logistics

Download Tilbury 2020/21 PLA Mini Handbook – Oct 2020:

	Tilbury	Tilbury2	Grangemouth	Rosyth	Dundee	Methil	Leith	Kirkcaldy	Burntisland
POA – HC -NT & T
POA – NHC – T
POA – NHC – NT
PNAO – HC – NT & T
PNAO – NHC (Food) – NT & T
PNAO NHC (Food) – NT
PNAO NHC (Other) (Plastic Kitchenware)
P
PP
PP (WP)
OO

Port	Berth/s	CSP
Tilbury	Riverside RoRo Berth, Grain terminal and all berths excluding 32 & 42	Destin8
	London Container Terminal (LCT)	Destin8 & CNS Compass
	Berths 32 & 42	CNS Compass
Tilbury2	Riverside Upper & Lower	Destin8
Methil	Transit & General Cargo	Destin8
Burntisland	Eastern & Western Dock	Destin8
Kirkcaldy	General Berth	Destin8
Grangemouth	Container Terminal, Oil Jetty 1&2 and General Berths	Destin8
Leith	General Berth	Destin8
Rosyth	General Berth	Destin8
Dundee	General Berth	Destin8

London’s Major Port

Port of Tilbury at a glance:

estate in excess of 1,000 acres
56 operational berths
31 independent working terminals
10.2km of quay
5million sqft of warehouse space

Closest port to London

Track your Container/Unit Online

Port of Tilbury (London) Services