DP World has just announced that 11 of the most sustainable straddle carriers yet manufactured will go into service at Southampton with immediate effect, completing a £40m investment over the last 12 months in Britain’s second largest container terminal. The vehicles, which lift containers moved by the quay cranes and then service onward forms of transport via road and rail, consume up to 20 per cent less fuel than the diesel-electric powered machines they will replace.
Ernst Schulze, UK Chief Executive of DP World, said: “I am delighted to announce the arrival of a new class of eleven hybrid straddle carriers at Southampton, which illustrates once again DP World’s commitment to improving the nation’s trading infrastructure and playing our part in helping the UK Government meet its target of delivering the net zero 2050 policy.”
“The £10m cost of the straddle carriers is part of DP World’s ongoing £40m investment in Southampton and should be viewed alongside the recent announcement that we will begin work on a £300m new fourth berth at our London Gateway logistics hub. As these major investments show, we believe in the UK market and have the ambition and the resources to boost growth, support businesses, create jobs and improve living standards.”
At Southampton in the last year alone DP World has also invested in the dredging and widening of berths to ensure continued accommodation of the world’s biggest ships, a £1.5m extension of a quay crane rail by 120 meters to ensure the world’s biggest cranes can service the entire terminal and a new £3m empty park which opened in September. The ultimate aim of the investment is to take Southampton up to the next level as a smart logistics hub and provide customers with speed, security, reliability and flexibility.
