Ports and Logistics

Historic importance

Essex has a thriving and well established ports and logistics sector, which has been historically important for the coastal economy.

Manningtree, on the River Stour, was a centre of the cloth trade in Tudor times and later a flourishing port for barges carrying cargoes down the coast to London. Brightlingsea, at the mouth of the River Colne, has a history of shipbuilding and seafaring.

Today the sector accounts for 2.3% of total jobs in the county (approximately 14,400 people) with an annual turnover of £ 2,779 million, and includes a range of activities such as warehousing, transport, administration, call centres, and management.

South Essex villages such as Benfleet and Fobbing have evolved from medieval ports into extensive large scale industrial activities, particularly mineral extraction, petrochemicals and power stations.

International Links

A number of key ports provide a link to international trade through Essex.

Harwich International Port, lying on the south bank of the River Stour, is the UK’s third largest cruise port and handles over 3.7 million tonnes of freight per year. Part of the Haven Ports cluster, which handles 40% of UK freight, Harwich port has excellent road and rail links and is also ideally located for reaching the North Sea countries.

The port also plays a key role in the installation of offshore wind farms, as the world’s largest offshore wind farms are currently being developed on the East of England coast. Harwich was the installation base for Essex’s Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm and it is involved with other major projects in the region.

Furthermore, the port is set to expand with the development of Bathside Bay, a £300 million deep-sea container port. This will enable it to handle multiple deep-sea container vessels, making Harwich potentially the second-largest container port in the UK.

The Port of Tilbury, located in the south of the county, is the UK’s number one port for the importation of forest products, the third largest UK container port and the UK’s largest grain terminal. It employs 650 direct jobs, supporting a further 2,000 jobs in port‐related businesses.

London Gateway Port, situated on the north bank of the River Thames, will be the UK’s first 21st Century major deep sea container port and Europe’s largest logistics park. Due for completion in the fourth quarter of 2013, London Gateway will have a significant impact on the regional economy as 2000 people are expected to be employed at the port, with a further 10,000 jobs being created at the nearby logistics park and twice as many indirectly.