Member Article

Trade at Port of London tops 50m tonnes for first time in a decade

The Port of London has revealed that trade at its terminals topped 50m for the first time since 2008, fuelled by an increase in oil volumes and new international routes.

According to the Port of London Authority (PLA), total tonnage of cargo handled at its terminals was 50.4m in 2016, an increase of 5m (11%) tonnes on the previous year with particularly robust performances in oil, containers and building materials.

Oil trades grew from 10.9m in 2015 to 13.3m tonnes last year (up 22%) as the first cargoes were delivered to the Thames Oil Port in Coryton where the former oil refinery site has been converted into a fuel terminal, while containers and trailers was up by 18% to 7m tonnes, and aggregates and cement saw an increase from 10.7m to 12.4m tonnes.

Further growth was supported by increased trade with overseas destinations, with a greater number of ultra larger container ships passing through DP World London Gateway and the addition of extra routes to central and South America, and Oceania.

The impressive growth follows a renewed effort to boost trade and increase water traffic across the River Thames’ network of ports and waterways, underlined by the Thames Vision plan.

Following last year’s impressive figures, PLA Chief Executive, Robin Mortimer said: “Our long term Vision is for 60 to 80 million tonnes of cargo to be traded every year through the Port of London - more than at any time in the Thames’ history. Passing 50 million tonnes in 2016 is a major milestone towards this goal.”

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