Port of Southampton
Encyclopedia
The Port of Southampton is a major passenger and cargo port located in the central part of the south coast of England
. It benefits from shelter provided by the Isle of Wight
and Southampton Water
, unique "double tides" and close proximity to the motorway and rail networks. Owned and operated by Associated British Ports since 1982, the port is the busiest cruise terminal and second largest container port in the UK.
See also History of the Port of Southampton
The port is ten miles (16 km) inland, at the confluence of the rivers Test
and Itchen
, and the head of the mile wide inlet (technically a ria
or drowned valley), known as Southampton Water
. The mouth of the inlet is itself sheltered from the effects of foul weather by the mass of the Isle of Wight
. All in all, the port enjoys a marvellously sheltered location. Other advantages include a densely populated hinterland and close proximity to London, yet excellent rail and road links to the rest of Britain which bypass the congestion of London.
The tidal range is only about 5 feet (1.5 metres) on average, with 17 hours per day of rising water thanks to the famous "double tides". The world's largest container and cruise ships can access the port 80 per cent of the time, according to the container terminal operator DP World Southampton. It is commonly assumed that the double tide is caused by 'one tide coming up each side of the Isle of Wight', but this is not the case. Instead, think of a bath containing water as a model of the English Channel
. High tide at one end of the Channel (Dover
) occurs at the same time as low tide at the other end (Land's End
) and vice versa. Model this by immersing an arm or improvised paddle in one end of the bath and gently pushing water toward the other end, to set up oscillations in the water. In the real world, the gravitational pull of the moon and the rotation of the Earth conspire to do this. Points near the middle of the bath have one high water as the tidal swell goes from left to right, another as it then goes from right to left, making two for each one at either end, neither as high as the one at each end. This is admittedly a grossly oversimplified model, but more detailed explanations are readily available for anyone interested.
and SS Canberra
. They were all built as fast liners, and at first operated as liners -
transporting passengers and mail one way from one port to another on line voyages. All were badly affected by the rise in popularity of longhaul jet air travel, and turned to cruises - voyages that usually end where they begin, providing short leisure visits to other ports on the way. They provided much of the capacity in the UK cruise market at the time.
Cruise ships can be very big these days; currently the biggest of all are the Royal Caribbean twins: Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. Each has a length of 1,181 ft (360m), a gross tonnage of 225,282, and could potentially carry a maximum of 8,461 passengers and crew. Oasis paid a brief visit to the Solent during her delivery voyage on 2 November 2009. She dropped off construction workers before continuing to Florida. As a consequence of these high capacities, the busiest ever period for the passenger port is right now. This is in terms of either tonnage of shipping or number of passengers, but not number of ships. In 2005, the number of passengers using the port totalled 738,000. For the first time this century, the figure was higher than it had been in any one year of the last century. Since then it has increased year on year, and the figure for 2010 was 1.2 million passengers, with 307 calls by passenger ships. On average, each call is worth £1.25 million to the local economy.
There are four cruise terminals in the Port of Southampton. The first two are old but have recently received extensive refurbishments, and the other two are new, so all are modern:
A berth in the Western docks between the City and Mayflower Terminals has been identified as the most likely site for a fifth cruise terminal, should the need for one arise in the future.
Southampton is the base of all of these large cruise ships:
and this one large liner:
It is also the port of registry of the three Cunard Queens.
Ships of these cruise companies, amongst others, also regularly call at the port:
The very modern and well-equipped container terminal is operated by DP World Southampton. The container port has 210 acres (85 ha) of land – not counting the 375 acres (151 ha) in the older western docks - available for port operations. Loading and unloading operations can be performed simultaneously on four large deep-sea container ships, plus one smaller ship 500 ft (150m) in length.
This makes it the country's second largest such terminal, after that at Felixstowe
. Southampton handles most of the trade from the Far East. In a major rail project that has recently been completed, the railway line has been lowered beneath all bridges and tunnels on the route between the container port and the ABP terminal in Birmingham, where it links with lines that have already received this treatment. The purpose is to enable passage of trains carrying taller containers.
Permission has been received from the Marine Management Organisation to extend the container terminal into berths 201 and 202. The quay is to be rebuilt, and will be over 1640 ft (500m) in length. The depth of water in the main channel is to be increased by dredging to 63 ft (16m). This will enable the berths to accommodate the largest container vessels currently in service. Work on this project has now started and should be completed by the end of 2013.
The Esso refinery at Fawley
is the largest in the country, providing 20 per cent of the nation's capacity. Its own mile-long marine terminal handles 2000 ship movements and 22 million tons (tonnes) of crude oil annually, making it the largest independently owned docks facility in Europe.
There is also a BP Oil Terminal at Hamble
, linked to Fawley by pipeline. This provides storage and distribution facilities for crude oil and refined petroleum products. The crude oil arrives by pipeline, and leaves in sea tankers, destined for various refineries; refined products reach the terminal by ship and pipeline and are then distributed to customers by road tanker, ship and pipeline. Heathrow Airport is one example of a major customer that is connected to Hamble by direct pipeline.
provide two ferry services from the Town Quay area in Southampton to the Isle of Wight
. The Car Ferry service to East Cowes, with a journey time of 55 minutes, is currently operated by the three Raptor class vessels: Red Falcon, Red Eagle
and Red Osprey..jpg)
The Fast Passenger Ferry service runs to Cowes (which is called “West Cowes” by Red Funnel, but not by anyone else) in 22 minutes. It is provided by the Red Jet catamarans: Red Jets 3
, 4
and 5
. The official name of this operator in the register of companies, which name has featured in The Guinness Book of Records
, is not Red Funnel but: The Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Public Limited Company.
, across Southampton Water, since the Middle Ages. A 2000 ft (610m) pier opened in 1881; a 2 foot (576mm) gauge railway, the oldest pier railway in the world, has run along it since 1922. White Horse Ferries
of Swindon are the current operators; the two boats they use are Great Expectations, which came from their Tilbury-Gravesend service, and Hotspur IV which has been floating around since 1946. The passage takes about 15 minutes.
. Ocean Village has 3 "Gold Anchors". Towards the western end of the Docks area there are additional berthing and anchoring possibilities, at Marchwood Yacht Club and Eling Sailing Club.
PS Waverley
, the last seagoing paddle-steamer in the world, and her running mate MV Balmoral run a small number of slightly longer day cruises from Southampton each year.
SS Shieldhall is a heritage ship included in the National Historic Ships Core Collection
(as is Waverley) and based here. She is now the largest seaworthy working steamship of her type in Britain and probably Europe. As a “Clyde sludge boat”, she spent her working life dumping treated sewage, first in Glasgow
, later in Southampton. Cleaned up now and managed by a charity, she operates an excursion programme, in addition to providing other services.
took place in 1969. It has been held annually ever since, and has become the biggest water-based event of its type in Europe. It usually takes place over ten days in September. The venue is Mayflower Park, overspilling into land at a nearby hotel, and also onto a 1.25 mile (2 km) network of temporary pontoons in the water. Around 350 of the boats are exhibited afloat at these pontoons, where potential customers have the opportunity to try them out. In total, 500 exhibitors show over 1000 boats in nearly 12 acres (47,000 square metres) of exhibition space.
Just beyond the Southampton boundary lies Netley
village, famous for its well preserved medieval Cistercian monastery Netley Abbey
.
Royal Victoria Country Park
on the shore is centred on a chapel which is all that survives of what, when completed in 1836, was the longest building in the world. This is the Royal Victoria Military Hospital, or Netley Hospital
, Britain's largest military hospital when in use. It treated 50,000 war wounded from WW I, 68,000 casualties of WW II, and many others before, between and since.
Hamble-le-Rice
is the next village to the south. Today it is known to yachtsmen as “the heart of British yachting”; it is a picturesque village set in a picturesque river estuary noted for abundant and varied wildlife. The Oil Terminal just to the north is maybe not so picturesque, but it can't really be seen from the village.
For much of the last century, however, Hamble was the village with three airfields, at the centre of an area with up to 26 aircraft manufacturers, great and small. The Hamble Aerostructures factory remains busy today. On top of that it was a major centre for air training from 1931 to 1984. Sir Winston Churchill was one of the many thousands who took flying lessons here.
Across the river Hamble, and linked to it by a small ferry for passengers and pedal cyclists, lies Warsash
. This is the last village before the border of the area controlled by ABP Southampton with that controlled by the Queen's Harbourmaster Portsmouth. The River Hamble itself, the third of the three rivers that formed Southampton Water, is controlled by its own little harbour authority, which is called – what else could it be called, but - "The River Hamble Harbour Authority".map
Warsash is another yachties' village, which also has a history of shipbuilding.
In addition it is the home of the Maritime Academy
, which provides training for future Merchant Navy Officers. Its famous model ships – which can sometimes look a bit comical, with the trainees' heads sticking out picture - were moved in May 2011 from their old base at Marchwood to a new one near Timsbury. The seven ton (tonne) models are powered, and have control systems which make them handle like the real thing. The new state-of-the-art facility for them at Timsbury Lake near Romsey features models of berths, ship canal locks, narrow channels etc. for use in training the next generation of ships' officers.
Across the Solent from Warsash, the ABP Harbour limit is at Stone point, near Lepe Country Park. The Department of Transport has responsibility for the safety of navigation within the Western Solent beyond this limit, as it currently lies outside the jurisdiction of any of the harbour authorities. The foreshore from here to Calshot
, the first village to the north-east, is a lightly frequented and rather muddy beach.
At Calshot, with the long row of beach huts, the beach is shingle, and the historical interest is plentiful and varied. Calshot Castle
, built by Henry VIII to govern the port approach stands on Calshot Spit
, a mile long (1.6 km) shingle bank, and housed a military garrison until as late as 1956. The area was a very busy major base and centre of activity for military flying boats. The hangars along the spit for them now accommodate a large activities centre, with climbing walls, velodrome and dry ski slope etc. There are also stations and facilities for the lifeboat and coastguard services. Saxon landings in 495, Lawrence of Arabia, the Schneider Trophy and the world’s first port radio and radar station all also feature in the history of this tiny village. Beyond Calshot lies the oil-fired 1GW Fawley Power Station
; beyond that is the huge Fawley Oil Refinery, with its associated piers for tankers.
Away from the built up areas and industrial facilities, the western shore is dominated by salt marshes, with some reeds. The next village is Hythe, which is associated with Sir Christopher Cockerell
. The father of the modern hovercraft lived here for a long time. His friend the aforementioned Lawrence of Arabia also lived here, but only for a short time. Hovercraft development and manufacture took place principally at Cowes and Woolston, but also at other locations in the Solent area. There is a museum devoted to them at Lee-on-Solent to the East.
The Hythe Village marina is situated to the north of the village. Between this marina and the Marchwood Military Port, 800 acres (324 ha) of land extending from the shore to a line roughly 900 yards (1 km) inland, is owned by ABP. It is held in reserve for, and likely eventually to be used for, further development of the container port. It adjoins part of the eastern boundary of the New Forest
National Park, and port development proposals are always highly emotive and contentious locally.
is a road bridge that charges tolls, connecting the docks area with Woolston. It spans 2625 ft (800m) and the clearance for shipping is 80 ft (24.4m) above Mean High Water Springs
, 95 ft (28.9m) above chart datum
. In 1977 it replaced a chain ferry known as the floating bridge, which had been operating since 1838.
Substantial storage warehouses once lined the banks of the lowest part of the river, but have been demolished. North of the bridge, on the western side, there are several yards and wharves used by coastal vessels. These handle relatively low-value, non-perishable and non-urgent bulk goods, including timber, scrap, metals, cement, sand and other quarry products. This trade accounts for 24 per cent by weight of internal goods transport in Britain, though somehow only road and rail seem to receive consideration in most transport policy discussions. The imposing modern structure of St Mary's Stadium
- the home of Southampton F.C.
- stands close to the river here, just inland of the coasters' yards.
A shipbuilding firm, Day Summers & Co. was active between 1840 and 1929 in this area. The final vesssel to be built there was the last floating bridge – no 14, which spent its working life a mile downstream, and is still in use today, albeit as a restaurant in Bursledon
five miles (8 km) away. Today this part of the river is occupied by the marinas, and also by many more small wharves, quays and shipyards, which provide homes for small to medium sized boating-related businesses. The next two crossings are Northam Bridge
, a part of the city's main eastern approach route, linking Bitterne Manor to Northam, and the railway bridge which carries the lines linking Southampton with Portsmouth and Brighton
.
Upstream of these, only a little commercial activity takes place on the river or its banks. Some residences having river frontages use them as moorings for small boats, and a number of private houseboats are berthed. One more large road bridge, Cobden Bridge
, connects St. Denys and Bitterne Park
. More houseboats are berthed to the north of it on the Western side, otherwise the riversides are occupied by parkland - oh, and the Portswood Sewage Treatment Works - for much of the next stretch, to Woodmill Bridge. The tidal section of the river, for which the Port of Southampton is the navigation authority, ends here. The river Itchen upstream is noted as one of the world's premier chalk streams for fly fishing
.
dual carriageway. The tidal section of the river, and the area of the navigation authority of The Port of Southampton, end in Redbridge, at a point close to these transport structures. The name of the bridge here comes from the abundant reeds in the area - “Reedbridge”; it was never red in colour. The River Test is even more famous than the Itchen in the world of fly fishing.
The village of Eling
, with its Sailing Club and anchorages for small boats, faces the container terminal to the south-west. It features a Norman parish church, one of the two working tide mills
left in Britain, and a mediæval toll bridge that still charges users.
Two miles (3 km) of undeveloped foreshore, mainly reeds, shingle and mud lie downstream from Eling, opposite the container port; then we come to industrialised Marchwood
, facing the western docks. A high-efficiency gas-fired 840 MW power station opened here in early 2010, replacing an older facility. The prominent 360 ft (110m) wide by 118 ft (36m) high aluminium dome is a new electricity-generating refuse incinerator; it too has recently replaced an outdated predecessor. There is also a sewage treatment works. Leaving the industrial estate we come to Cracknore Hard. This area was home to Husband's Shipyard, famed for wooden military craft including minesweepers, and also yachts and fishing boats. The British Military Powerboat Team more recently assembled an interesting collection of historic military powerboats in the old Husband sheds, but they have just left and gone to Portsmouth. A marina and hotel are now planned for this site in the near future. Beyond lies Marchwood Military Port, and our quick look round the edge of the port is at an end.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It benefits from shelter provided by the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
and Southampton Water
Southampton Water
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley...
, unique "double tides" and close proximity to the motorway and rail networks. Owned and operated by Associated British Ports since 1982, the port is the busiest cruise terminal and second largest container port in the UK.
See also History of the Port of Southampton
History of the Port of Southampton
The Port of Southampton is a major passenger and cargo port located in the central part of the south coast of England. It has been an important port since the Roman occupation of Britain nearly two thousand years ago, and has a multifaceted history...
The port is ten miles (16 km) inland, at the confluence of the rivers Test
River Test
The River Test is a river in Hampshire, England. The river has a total length of 40 miles and it flows through downland from its source near Ashe, 10 km to the west of Basingstoke , to the sea at the head of Southampton Water...
and Itchen
River Itchen, Hampshire
The River Itchen is a river in Hampshire, England. It flows from mid-Hampshire to join with Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge in the city of Southampton. The river has a total length of , and is noted as one of England's - if not one of the World's - premier chalk streams for fly fishing,...
, and the head of the mile wide inlet (technically a ria
Ria
A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the...
or drowned valley), known as Southampton Water
Southampton Water
Southampton Water is a tidal estuary north of the Solent and the Isle of Wight in England. The city of Southampton lies at its most northerly point. Along its salt marsh-fringed western shores lie the New Forest villages of Hythe and "the waterside", Dibden Bay, and the Esso oil refinery at Fawley...
. The mouth of the inlet is itself sheltered from the effects of foul weather by the mass of the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. All in all, the port enjoys a marvellously sheltered location. Other advantages include a densely populated hinterland and close proximity to London, yet excellent rail and road links to the rest of Britain which bypass the congestion of London.
The tidal range is only about 5 feet (1.5 metres) on average, with 17 hours per day of rising water thanks to the famous "double tides". The world's largest container and cruise ships can access the port 80 per cent of the time, according to the container terminal operator DP World Southampton. It is commonly assumed that the double tide is caused by 'one tide coming up each side of the Isle of Wight', but this is not the case. Instead, think of a bath containing water as a model of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. High tide at one end of the Channel (Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
) occurs at the same time as low tide at the other end (Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
) and vice versa. Model this by immersing an arm or improvised paddle in one end of the bath and gently pushing water toward the other end, to set up oscillations in the water. In the real world, the gravitational pull of the moon and the rotation of the Earth conspire to do this. Points near the middle of the bath have one high water as the tidal swell goes from left to right, another as it then goes from right to left, making two for each one at either end, neither as high as the one at each end. This is admittedly a grossly oversimplified model, but more detailed explanations are readily available for anyone interested.
Cruise terminal
The first full time cruise ship was Ceylon, a converted P&O liner of 1881, and P&O thus consider themselves the inventors of cruising. Before then, ship owners had occasionally used liners for off-season cruising. Since then, the growth of the cruise industry proceeded very slowly till the 1970s and 1980s; after that, it started to proceed more quickly. The most well-known ships using Southampton at that time included Cunard's QE2 and the P&O vessels SS OrianaSS Oriana (1959)
SS Oriana was the last of the Orient Steam Navigation Company's ocean liners. She was built at Vickers-Armstrong, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and launched on 3 November 1959 by Princess Alexandra...
and SS Canberra
SS Canberra
SS Canberra was an ocean liner, which later operated on cruises, in the P&O fleet from 1961 to 1997. She was built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland at a cost of £17,000,000. The ship was named on 17 March 1958, after the federal capital of Australia, Canberra...
. They were all built as fast liners, and at first operated as liners -
Cruise ships can be very big these days; currently the biggest of all are the Royal Caribbean twins: Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. Each has a length of 1,181 ft (360m), a gross tonnage of 225,282, and could potentially carry a maximum of 8,461 passengers and crew. Oasis paid a brief visit to the Solent during her delivery voyage on 2 November 2009. She dropped off construction workers before continuing to Florida. As a consequence of these high capacities, the busiest ever period for the passenger port is right now. This is in terms of either tonnage of shipping or number of passengers, but not number of ships. In 2005, the number of passengers using the port totalled 738,000. For the first time this century, the figure was higher than it had been in any one year of the last century. Since then it has increased year on year, and the figure for 2010 was 1.2 million passengers, with 307 calls by passenger ships. On average, each call is worth £1.25 million to the local economy.
- Queen Elizabeth II Terminal, berth 38/39 opened 1966, modernised 2003
- Mayflower Terminal, berth 106 opened 1960, modernised 2003
- City Terminal,, berth 101 opened 2003, upgraded 2007
- Ocean Terminal, berth 46 opened 2009
A berth in the Western docks between the City and Mayflower Terminals has been identified as the most likely site for a fifth cruise terminal, should the need for one arise in the future.
Southampton is the base of all of these large cruise ships:
- P&O CruisesP&O CruisesP&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
- AdoniaRoyal PrincessMS Adonia is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique at their shipyard in St. Nazaire, France. At 30,000 tonnes, Adonia is the smallest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises...
, Arcadia, Aurora, Azura, Oceana, OrianaMV Oriana (1995)MV Oriana is a cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship was built by Meyer Werft at their shipyard in Papenburg, Germany. At 69,000 tonnes, Oriana is the sixth largest of seven ships currently in service with P&O Cruises. She officially entered service with the company in April 1995 and was...
, Ventura - Celebrity CruisesCelebrity CruisesCelebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
- Celebrity EclipseCelebrity EclipseCelebrity Eclipse is a , operated by Celebrity Cruises. She is the sister ship of Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Equinox, which entered service in November 2008 and July 2009, respectively. A fourth ship in the class, Celebrity Silhouette, she entered service in Fall 2011. She is the third...
- CunardCunard LineCunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
- Queen VictoriaMS Queen VictoriaMS Queen Victoria is a cruise ship in the Cunard Line fleet, named after Queen Victoria.Queen Victoria is the running mate to Queen Mary 2, and the new Queen Elizabeth. Until November 2008, she also operated alongside Queen Elizabeth 2...
, Queen ElizabethRMS Queen Elizabeth 2Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar... - Princess CruisesPrincess CruisesPrincess Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line, based in Santa Clarita, California in the United States. Previously a subsidiary of P&O Princess Cruises PLC, the company is now one of ten cruise ship brands operated by Carnival Corporation & PLC and accounts for approximately 19% share...
- Grand PrincessGrand PrincessGrand Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises. Built in 1998 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani in Monfalcone , Italy, at a cost of approximately US$450 million, she was the largest and most expensive passenger ship ever built at the time...
, Crown PrincessCrown Princess (ship)Crown Princess is a Grand Class ship owned and operated by Princess Cruises. Her maiden voyage took place on June 14, 2006, departing Red Hook, Brooklyn for Grand Turk , Ocho Rios , Grand Cayman , and Port Canaveral... - Royal CaribbeanRoyal Caribbean InternationalRoyal Caribbean International is a Norwegian and American cruise line brand based in Miami, Florida and owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.. With 42 ships in service under 5 different brands and one more under construction, it controls a 25.6% share of the world cruise market...
- Independence of the SeasIndependence of the SeasMS Independence of the Seas is a operated by the Royal Caribbean cruise line that entered service in April 2008. The 15-deck ship can accommodate 4,370 passengers served by 1,360 crew. She was built in the Aker Finnyards drydock in Turku, Finland, builder of Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the...
and this one large liner:
- CunardCunard LineCunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
- Queen Mary 2
It is also the port of registry of the three Cunard Queens.
Ships of these cruise companies, amongst others, also regularly call at the port:
- Fred. Olsen Cruise LinesFred. Olsen Cruise LinesFred. Olsen Cruise Lines is a UK based, Norwegian-owned cruise shipping line with four cruise ships. The company headquarters are in Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom and is owned by Bonheur and Ganger Rolf. The company is part of the Fred...
- Relaxed traditional cruising; four smallish ships - Crystal CruisesCrystal CruisesCrystal Cruise Lines, most commonly seen as Crystal Cruises, is a Japanese luxury cruise line founded in 1988 and notable for its two medium-sized, high-end ships, Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity, which each hold about 1,000 guests. The line is a wholly owned subsidiary of the large Japanese...
– Headquartered in Los Angeles; two luxurious top of market ships - Costa CruisesCosta CruisesCosta Cruises is a British-American owned Italian cruise line, based in Genoa, Italy.Founded in 1924, the company originally operated cargo ships, until the introduction of passenger services in 1947, with regular services between Italy and South America...
- Part of Carnival; Italian flag; 14 ships - MSC Cruises - 11 ships; Italian based; considered good for first time cruisers
- Norwegian Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise LineNorwegian Cruise Line is a company operating cruise ships, headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida. It began operations in 1966 under the name Norwegian Caribbean Line. The company is best known for its Freestyle Cruising concept, which means that there are no set times or...
11 ships; headquarters in Florida; informal - eat when you want, wearing what you want. - Seabourn Cruise LineSeabourn Cruise LineSeabourn Cruise Line is a luxury cruise line headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The line operates all around the world, from short seven-day Caribbean cruises to exotic 100+ day cruises around the world...
Six small ships; part of Carnival; very well-equipped cabins - Saga Cruises - Three small friendly ships. Children (which to this company means under 50 !) are not allowed
- Silversea CruisesSilversea CruisesSilversea Cruises is a luxury cruise line that operates six luxury, all-suite cruise ships that sail itineraries all around the world throughout the year. The line maintains branch offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore...
- Monaco based; Italian owned; six ships. Start and/or end your cruise at intermediate ports if you wish - Thomson Cruises – Five ships provide holidays similar to Thomson's other offerings
Containers
This makes it the country's second largest such terminal, after that at Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
. Southampton handles most of the trade from the Far East. In a major rail project that has recently been completed, the railway line has been lowered beneath all bridges and tunnels on the route between the container port and the ABP terminal in Birmingham, where it links with lines that have already received this treatment. The purpose is to enable passage of trains carrying taller containers.
Permission has been received from the Marine Management Organisation to extend the container terminal into berths 201 and 202. The quay is to be rebuilt, and will be over 1640 ft (500m) in length. The depth of water in the main channel is to be increased by dredging to 63 ft (16m). This will enable the berths to accommodate the largest container vessels currently in service. Work on this project has now started and should be completed by the end of 2013.
Vehicles
The port has very good facilities for the import and export of vehicles; not only standard cars and vans but also heavy and large specialist vehicles such as giant quarry trucks. It doesn't really have the endless acres of space for them that it would like to have. Three large multi-storey car park type storage facilities have been constructed, to provide 30 acres (12 ha) of above-ground storage, with more planned. Roll on - roll off vehicle transporters serve all parts of the world; specialised car trains as well as car transporter lorries provide vehicle transport to and from the port within Britain. It has been the UK's leading port for vehicle exports in recent years.Bulk cargos
The terminal for bulk goods handles over a million tons annually. One large specialist facility processes waste glass into glass cullet, suitable for making new glass bottles. A Rank Hovis flour mill deals with 70,000 tons (tonnes) of wheat each year. Crushed rocks, gravel, sand, fertilisers, grains and scrap are also handled.Perishable foods
There are large (156,000 sq ft (14,500 square metres)) refrigerated storage facilities and a dedicated terminal for fresh fruits and vegetables. The port handles 80,000 tons (tonnes) of such produce, much of it from the Canary Isles, each year.Oil and petroleum products
Fawley, Hampshire
Fawley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. It is situated in the New Forest on the western shore of the Solent, approximately 7 miles south of Southampton. Fawley is also the site of an oil refinery, operated by Exxon-Mobil, which is the largest facility of its kind in the United...
is the largest in the country, providing 20 per cent of the nation's capacity. Its own mile-long marine terminal handles 2000 ship movements and 22 million tons (tonnes) of crude oil annually, making it the largest independently owned docks facility in Europe.
There is also a BP Oil Terminal at Hamble
Hamble-le-Rice
Hamble-le-Rice is a village in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, UK. It is best known for being an aircraft training centre during the Second World War and is a popular yachting location...
, linked to Fawley by pipeline. This provides storage and distribution facilities for crude oil and refined petroleum products. The crude oil arrives by pipeline, and leaves in sea tankers, destined for various refineries; refined products reach the terminal by ship and pipeline and are then distributed to customers by road tanker, ship and pipeline. Heathrow Airport is one example of a major customer that is connected to Hamble by direct pipeline.
Cross-Solent ferries
Red FunnelRed Funnel
The Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Limited, which trades as Red Funnel, is a ferry company that carries passengers and vehicles on routes between the English mainland and the Isle of Wight...
provide two ferry services from the Town Quay area in Southampton to the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. The Car Ferry service to East Cowes, with a journey time of 55 minutes, is currently operated by the three Raptor class vessels: Red Falcon, Red Eagle
Red Eagle
- People :*Jay Red Eagle, Cherokee flutist*William Weatherford , Creek Indian known as Red Eagle-Military Units:*4th Infantry Division , known as the Red Eagle Division...
and Red Osprey.
Red Jet 3
MV Red Jet 3 is a passenger catamaran ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight along with sister ships Red Jet 4 and Red Jet 5. She was built by FB Marine Ltd on the Isle of Wight, United Kingdom. Red Jet 3 is the only vessel in the fleet built by...
, 4
Red Jet 4
MV Red Jet 4 is a passenger catamaran ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight, along with sister ships Red Jet 3 and Red Jet 5. She was built by North West Bay Ships in Tasmania. Red Jet 4 is the first vessel built by Red Funnel outside the UK...
and 5
Red Jet 5
MV Red Jet 5 is a passenger catamaran ferry operated by Red Funnel on their route from Southampton to Cowes on the Isle of Wight along with sister ships Red Jet 3 and Red Jet 4. She was built by Pequot River Shipworks in New London, Connecticut, USA. Red Jet 5 is the second vessel built by Red...
. The official name of this operator in the register of companies, which name has featured in The Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, is not Red Funnel but: The Southampton Isle of Wight and South of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Public Limited Company.
Hythe ferry
There has been a passenger ferry from the Town Quay to the village of HytheHythe, Hampshire
Hythe is a village near Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is located by the shore of Southampton Water, and has a ferry service connecting it to Southampton...
, across Southampton Water, since the Middle Ages. A 2000 ft (610m) pier opened in 1881; a 2 foot (576mm) gauge railway, the oldest pier railway in the world, has run along it since 1922. White Horse Ferries
White Horse Ferries Ltd
White Horse Ferries is a company that operates ferries along the English south coast. They operate the Hythe Ferry and the pier as well....
of Swindon are the current operators; the two boats they use are Great Expectations, which came from their Tilbury-Gravesend service, and Hotspur IV which has been floating around since 1946. The passage takes about 15 minutes.
Marinas
The use of small private craft within Southampton has seen a big increase in recent years. Marina facilities are available at Hythe Village Marina across Southampton Water to the south, and at several locations on the River Itchen. Before the road bridge there is the Ocean Village Marina, already mentioned. Shamrock Quay and Saxon Wharf marinas lie on the western side of the river further upstream, while Kemps Quay marina is on the eastern side. Town Quay marina has a very central location close to the Red Jet fast ferry berths. All of these are well equipped. Together they offer all conceivable facilities and services for boats. Hythe Village and Shamrock Quay have each been awarded "5 Gold Anchors" classifications from The Yacht Harbour AssociationThe Yacht Harbour Association
The Yacht Harbour Association is the trade association for the development of coastal and inland boating facilities and for the improvement of boating and yachting....
. Ocean Village has 3 "Gold Anchors". Towards the western end of the Docks area there are additional berthing and anchoring possibilities, at Marchwood Yacht Club and Eling Sailing Club.
Harbour and local pleasure cruises
Blue Funnel Cruises offer harbour cruises to view the ships in port, as well as other short day cruises in the Solent area, and "Party Night" type trips etc. The Barkham family began the operation in the 1930s; the current name was adopted in 1965. They currently run three vessels, named Ocean Scene, Ashleigh R and Jenny R from Ocean Village.PS Waverley
PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973...
, the last seagoing paddle-steamer in the world, and her running mate MV Balmoral run a small number of slightly longer day cruises from Southampton each year.
National Historic Fleet, Core Collection
The National Historic Fleet, Core Collection is a list of museum ships located in the United Kingdom, under the National Historic Ships register.The vessels on the National Historic Fleet are distinguished by:...
(as is Waverley) and based here. She is now the largest seaworthy working steamship of her type in Britain and probably Europe. As a “Clyde sludge boat”, she spent her working life dumping treated sewage, first in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, later in Southampton. Cleaned up now and managed by a charity, she operates an excursion programme, in addition to providing other services.
Boat show
The first Southampton International Boat ShowSouthampton Boat Show
The Southampton Boat Show is the biggest water based boat show in Europe. It has been held every September since 1969 in Mayflower Park, Southampton, England. It is one of the two major annual boat shows in the United Kingdom, alongside the London Boat Show...
took place in 1969. It has been held annually ever since, and has become the biggest water-based event of its type in Europe. It usually takes place over ten days in September. The venue is Mayflower Park, overspilling into land at a nearby hotel, and also onto a 1.25 mile (2 km) network of temporary pontoons in the water. Around 350 of the boats are exhibited afloat at these pontoons, where potential customers have the opportunity to try them out. In total, 500 exhibitors show over 1000 boats in nearly 12 acres (47,000 square metres) of exhibition space.
Eastern shore
South of Woolston, Southampton has a shingle beach within its boundaries, at Weston shore. It's good for walks, views and bracing sea breezes, but users do have to share the area with heavy marine traffic, when all's said and done; oil-covered pebbles, and rubbish on the beach, originating from ships, are not unknown. On the water, this area is popular for sailing small dinghies; in the Solent area as a whole, over 60 dinghy sailing clubs cater for this pastime. This is in addition to the 70 plus yacht and sailing clubs and 40 marinas for bigger vessels.Just beyond the Southampton boundary lies Netley
Netley
Netley, sometimes called Netley Abbey, is a village on the south coast of Hampshire, England, situated on the east side of the city of Southampton...
village, famous for its well preserved medieval Cistercian monastery Netley Abbey
Netley Abbey
Netley Abbey is a ruined late medieval monastery in the village of Netley near Southampton in Hampshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1239 as a house for Roman Catholic monks of the austere Cistercian order. Despite being a royal abbey, Netley was never rich, produced no influential scholars...
.
Royal Victoria Country Park
The Royal Victoria Country Park is a country park in Netley, Hampshire, England, by the shores of Southampton Water. It comprises of mature woodland and grassy parkland, as well as a small shingle beach....
on the shore is centred on a chapel which is all that survives of what, when completed in 1836, was the longest building in the world. This is the Royal Victoria Military Hospital, or Netley Hospital
Netley Hospital
The Royal Victoria Hospital, or Netley Hospital was a large military hospital in Netley, near Southampton, Hampshire, England. Construction started in 1856 at the suggestion of Queen Victoria but its design caused some controversy, chiefly from Florence Nightingale. Often visited by Queen Victoria,...
, Britain's largest military hospital when in use. It treated 50,000 war wounded from WW I, 68,000 casualties of WW II, and many others before, between and since.
Hamble-le-Rice
Hamble-le-Rice
Hamble-le-Rice is a village in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, UK. It is best known for being an aircraft training centre during the Second World War and is a popular yachting location...
is the next village to the south. Today it is known to yachtsmen as “the heart of British yachting”; it is a picturesque village set in a picturesque river estuary noted for abundant and varied wildlife. The Oil Terminal just to the north is maybe not so picturesque, but it can't really be seen from the village.
For much of the last century, however, Hamble was the village with three airfields, at the centre of an area with up to 26 aircraft manufacturers, great and small. The Hamble Aerostructures factory remains busy today. On top of that it was a major centre for air training from 1931 to 1984. Sir Winston Churchill was one of the many thousands who took flying lessons here.
Across the river Hamble, and linked to it by a small ferry for passengers and pedal cyclists, lies Warsash
Warsash
Warsash is a village in southern Hampshire, England, situated at the mouth of the River Hamble, west of the area known as Locks Heath. Boating plays an important part in the village's economy, and the village has a sailing club...
. This is the last village before the border of the area controlled by ABP Southampton with that controlled by the Queen's Harbourmaster Portsmouth. The River Hamble itself, the third of the three rivers that formed Southampton Water, is controlled by its own little harbour authority, which is called – what else could it be called, but - "The River Hamble Harbour Authority".map
Warsash is another yachties' village, which also has a history of shipbuilding.
In addition it is the home of the Maritime Academy
Warsash Maritime Academy
Warsash Maritime Academy is a maritime training college and is part of Southampton Solent University. The academy campus is just east of Southampton aside the River Hamble and Warsash village. The college provides education, training, consultancy and research to the international shipping and...
, which provides training for future Merchant Navy Officers. Its famous model ships – which can sometimes look a bit comical, with the trainees' heads sticking out picture - were moved in May 2011 from their old base at Marchwood to a new one near Timsbury. The seven ton (tonne) models are powered, and have control systems which make them handle like the real thing. The new state-of-the-art facility for them at Timsbury Lake near Romsey features models of berths, ship canal locks, narrow channels etc. for use in training the next generation of ships' officers.
Western shore
Calshot
Calshot is a coastal village in Hampshire, England at the west corner of Southampton_Water where it joins the Solent. A settlement at the site is believed to have existed since the fifth century AD...
, the first village to the north-east, is a lightly frequented and rather muddy beach.
At Calshot, with the long row of beach huts, the beach is shingle, and the historical interest is plentiful and varied. Calshot Castle
Calshot Castle
Calshot Castle is one of Henry VIII's device forts, built on Calshot Spit at the Solent near Fawley to guard the entrance to Southampton Water...
, built by Henry VIII to govern the port approach stands on Calshot Spit
Calshot Spit
Calshot Spit is a one-mile long sand and shingle bank, located on the southern bank of the open end of Southampton Water, on the south coast of England....
, a mile long (1.6 km) shingle bank, and housed a military garrison until as late as 1956. The area was a very busy major base and centre of activity for military flying boats. The hangars along the spit for them now accommodate a large activities centre, with climbing walls, velodrome and dry ski slope etc. There are also stations and facilities for the lifeboat and coastguard services. Saxon landings in 495, Lawrence of Arabia, the Schneider Trophy and the world’s first port radio and radar station all also feature in the history of this tiny village. Beyond Calshot lies the oil-fired 1GW Fawley Power Station
Fawley Power Station
Fawley Power Station is an oil-fired power station located on the western side of Southampton Water, between the villages of Fawley and Calshot in Hampshire...
; beyond that is the huge Fawley Oil Refinery, with its associated piers for tankers.
Away from the built up areas and industrial facilities, the western shore is dominated by salt marshes, with some reeds. The next village is Hythe, which is associated with Sir Christopher Cockerell
Christopher Cockerell
Sir Christopher Sydney Cockerell CBE FRS was an English engineer, inventor of the hovercraft.-Life:Cockerell was born in Cambridge, where his father, Sir Sydney Cockerell, was curator of the Fitzwilliam Museum, having previously been the secretary of William Morris. Christopher Cockerell was...
. The father of the modern hovercraft lived here for a long time. His friend the aforementioned Lawrence of Arabia also lived here, but only for a short time. Hovercraft development and manufacture took place principally at Cowes and Woolston, but also at other locations in the Solent area. There is a museum devoted to them at Lee-on-Solent to the East.
The Hythe Village marina is situated to the north of the village. Between this marina and the Marchwood Military Port, 800 acres (324 ha) of land extending from the shore to a line roughly 900 yards (1 km) inland, is owned by ABP. It is held in reserve for, and likely eventually to be used for, further development of the container port. It adjoins part of the eastern boundary of the New Forest
New Forest
The New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
National Park, and port development proposals are always highly emotive and contentious locally.
River Itchen
The Itchen BridgeItchen Bridge
The Itchen Bridge is a bridge over the River Itchen in Southampton, Hampshire. It is a high-level hollow box girder bridge. It is located approximately 1 km from the river mouth. The bridge spans , is at its highest point and weighs 62,000 tons. It was officially opened July 13, 1977. At the...
is a road bridge that charges tolls, connecting the docks area with Woolston. It spans 2625 ft (800m) and the clearance for shipping is 80 ft (24.4m) above Mean High Water Springs
Mean high water springs
The mean high water spring is the highest level that spring tides reach on the average over a period of time . This level is generally close to being the "high water mark" where debris accumulates on the shore annually.-External links:...
, 95 ft (28.9m) above chart datum
Chart datum
A chart datum is the level of water that charted depths displayed on a nautical chart are measured from. A chart datum is generally a tidal datum; that is, a datum derived from some phase of the tide...
. In 1977 it replaced a chain ferry known as the floating bridge, which had been operating since 1838.
St Mary's Stadium
St Mary's Stadium is the home of Southampton F.C., in the city of Southampton. It is a UEFA 4-star rated stadium and with a capacity of 32,689 is the largest football stadium in the south of England, outside of London.-History:...
- the home of Southampton F.C.
Southampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
- stands close to the river here, just inland of the coasters' yards.
A shipbuilding firm, Day Summers & Co. was active between 1840 and 1929 in this area. The final vesssel to be built there was the last floating bridge – no 14, which spent its working life a mile downstream, and is still in use today, albeit as a restaurant in Bursledon
Bursledon
Bursledon is a village on the River Hamble in Hampshire, England. It is located within the borough of Eastleigh. Close to the city of Southampton, Bursledon has a railway station, a marina, dockyards and the Bursledon Windmill. Nearby villages include Swanwick, Hamble-le-Rice, Netley and Sarisbury...
five miles (8 km) away. Today this part of the river is occupied by the marinas, and also by many more small wharves, quays and shipyards, which provide homes for small to medium sized boating-related businesses. The next two crossings are Northam Bridge
Northam Bridge
The Northam Bridge is a road bridge across the River Itchen in Southampton, England, linking the suburbs of Northam and Bitterne Manor. The current bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the United Kingdom...
, a part of the city's main eastern approach route, linking Bitterne Manor to Northam, and the railway bridge which carries the lines linking Southampton with Portsmouth and Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
.
Upstream of these, only a little commercial activity takes place on the river or its banks. Some residences having river frontages use them as moorings for small boats, and a number of private houseboats are berthed. One more large road bridge, Cobden Bridge
Cobden Bridge
Cobden Bridge is a major road bridge in Southampton, UK. It crosses the River Itchen joining the suburbs of St Denys and Bitterne Park. It forms part of the A3035...
, connects St. Denys and Bitterne Park
Bitterne Park
Bitterne Park is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England, on the Eastern bank of the River Itchen, built on sloping parkland which once formed part of Bitterne Manor....
. More houseboats are berthed to the north of it on the Western side, otherwise the riversides are occupied by parkland - oh, and the Portswood Sewage Treatment Works - for much of the next stretch, to Woodmill Bridge. The tidal section of the river, for which the Port of Southampton is the navigation authority, ends here. The river Itchen upstream is noted as one of the world's premier chalk streams for fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
.
River Test
Car storage compounds within the docks now extend close to the bridges carrying the main Southampton - Bournemouth railway line and the busy A35A35 road
The A35 is a trunk road in southern England, running from Honiton in Devon, that then passes through Dorset and terminates in Southampton, Hampshire...
dual carriageway. The tidal section of the river, and the area of the navigation authority of The Port of Southampton, end in Redbridge, at a point close to these transport structures. The name of the bridge here comes from the abundant reeds in the area - “Reedbridge”; it was never red in colour. The River Test is even more famous than the Itchen in the world of fly fishing.
Totton and Eling
Totton and Eling is a town and civil parish in Hampshire, UK, with a population of around 28,000 people. It is situated on the eastern edge of the New Forest and on the River Test, close to the city of Southampton and part of the city's urban area...
, with its Sailing Club and anchorages for small boats, faces the container terminal to the south-west. It features a Norman parish church, one of the two working tide mills
Eling Tide Mill
Eling Tide Mill, situated on an artificial causeway in Eling in Hampshire, England, is one of only two remaining operating tide mills in the United Kingdom. The other is Woodbridge Tide Mill. Whilst a mill is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, there is no evidence that there is any connection...
left in Britain, and a mediæval toll bridge that still charges users.
Two miles (3 km) of undeveloped foreshore, mainly reeds, shingle and mud lie downstream from Eling, opposite the container port; then we come to industrialised Marchwood
Marchwood
Marchwood is a village and civil parish located in Hampshire, United Kingdom. It lies between Totton and Hythe on the western shore of Southampton Water, next to the New Forest. The population of the village in the 2001 census was 5,586.-History:...
, facing the western docks. A high-efficiency gas-fired 840 MW power station opened here in early 2010, replacing an older facility. The prominent 360 ft (110m) wide by 118 ft (36m) high aluminium dome is a new electricity-generating refuse incinerator; it too has recently replaced an outdated predecessor. There is also a sewage treatment works. Leaving the industrial estate we come to Cracknore Hard. This area was home to Husband's Shipyard, famed for wooden military craft including minesweepers, and also yachts and fishing boats. The British Military Powerboat Team more recently assembled an interesting collection of historic military powerboats in the old Husband sheds, but they have just left and gone to Portsmouth. A marina and hotel are now planned for this site in the near future. Beyond lies Marchwood Military Port, and our quick look round the edge of the port is at an end.
Other activities
Port-related activities that have not been mentioned include the following: considered together with those that have been mentioned, it may seem an interesting list to those who think of a port as just a ship park:- Shipping Agents
- Provisions for cargo and passenger ships
- Ships' Chandlers
- Freight Forwarders
- Security
- Warehousing
- Harbourmaster
- HM Revenue and Customs
- UK Border AgencyUK Border AgencyThe UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...
- Southampton Port health services
- Hampshire Constabulary Marine Support Unit
- HM Coastguards Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Lee-on-Solent
- Royal National Lifeboat Institution – The Calshot Lifeboat
- Designated areas for angling, jet-skiing, waterskiing, windsurfing etc.
- Port Maintenance crews
- Cruise-ship cleaning
- Engineering Support for ships
- The Southampton Seafarers Centre
- Waste collection
- Stevedores and terminals
- Cargo Processors
- Tugs
- Pilots
- The VTS (Vessel Traffic Services) Centre Control Room
- Mooring services
- Dredging
- Fuel Supplies
- Port towage
- container repair
- Container storage
- Freightliner Rail
- Pre-delivery inspections etc. for vehicle importers
- PT Contractors Ltd. - (resident building and civil engineering contractors)
- Headquarters - Marine Accident Investigation BranchMarine Accident Investigation BranchThe Marine Accident Investigation Branch established in 1989 following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster is a branch of the United Kingdom Department for Transport which can investigate any accident occurring in UK waters, regardless of the nationality of the vessel involved, and accidents...
of the Department for Transport - Headquarters - Maritime and Coastguard AgencyMaritime and Coastguard AgencyThe Maritime and Coastguard Agency is a UK executive agency working to prevent the loss of lives at sea and is responsible for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy.This involves coordinating search and rescue at sea through Her Majesty's Coastguard , ensuring that...