Port of Dover
Port of Dover | |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Location | Dover, Kent |
Details | |
Opened | 1606 |
Operated by | Dover Harbour Board |
Owned by | Dover Harbour Board |
No. of berths | 8 |
No. of piers | 2 |
Statistics | |
Passenger traffic | 10,863,262[1] (2019) |
Annual turnover | £58.5 million |
Website www.doverport.co.uk |
The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just 34 kilometres (21 mi) away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime passenger ports, with 11.7 million passengers, 2.6 million lorries, 2.2 million cars and motorcycles and 80,000 coaches passing through it in 2017,[1] and with an annual turnover of £58.5 million a year.[2] This contrasts with the nearby Channel Tunnel, the only fixed link between the island of Great Britain and the European mainland, which now handles an estimated 20 million passengers and 1.6 million trucks per year.
The modern port facility features a large artificial harbour constructed behind stone piers and a defensive concrete breakwater. The port is divided into two main sections: the Eastern Docks serve as the main cross-channel ferry terminal, while the Western Docks contain a cruise ship terminal and a yacht marina along with cargo facilities.
The Port of Dover has a long history and possesses several
History
Dover Harbour Act 1603 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 7 July 1604 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1948 |
Status: Repealed |
Dover grew further after the
Dover Harbour Repairs Act 1662 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
Expired | 23 June 1669 |
Repealed | 30 July 1948 |
Other legislation | |
Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1948 |
Status: Repealed | |
Text of statute as originally enacted |
In the 1580s, under the direction of Thomas Digges and championed by Sir Walter Raleigh, early port infrastructure work commenced to address siltation through the use of sluices and the development of an enclosed pool of water known as the Great Pent: by means of this the harbour could be periodically scoured.[5][6][7] The Great Pent was formed by the construction of a cross wall across the existing natural shingle lagoon at the mouth of the River Dour: the work was largely undertaken by labourers from Romney Marsh, using skills honed in the construction of seawalls.[8] The project has been described as "one of the most successful engineering enterprises of [Queen] Elizabeth's reign".[9] The later construction of Wellington Dock, designed by James Walker in the early 1830s, occupies the approximate footprint of the Great Pent.
After the threats of the
During the
Eastern Docks
Dover's Eastern Docks were used for
From 1930 until 1950 an aerial ropeway carried coal from Tilmanstone colliery, 7½ miles to the north. It emerged halfway up the Langdon cliffs directly above the Eastern harbour arm, through two portals which have been bricked up but can still be seen from the ferry port. Coal was deposited in bunkers at the outer end of the Eastern harbour arm. The ropeway had 600 1-ton buckets that departed at intervals of 21 seconds and travelled at 4½ miles per hour. The system could thus transport 120 tons of coal per hour.[13][14]
Dover Harbour Act 1950 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
The first two roll-on/roll-off ferry berths in the Eastern Docks were opened on 30 June 1953. The first ro-ro ferry, the appropriately modified British Railways' SS Dinard, departed for Boulogne on 3 July 1953.[15] Today, there are seven active docks for Ro-Ro vessels to utilise at Dover, one deconstructed dock and one unused dock for high-speed Ro-Ro watercraft.
In 1966 well over 600,000 accompanied vehicles travelled through Dover's Eastern Docks en route to France or Belgium.[16]
Western Docks
After rail services were extended to Dover in 1844, the Western Docks were used as a terminal for the
The Western Docks area was also used from 1968 to the early 2000s for a cross-channel
Infrastructure
The harbour is divided into two main sections, the Eastern Docks and the Western Docks, about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) apart.
Eastern Docks
Cross channel ferry services to France operate from the seven twin-level ferry berths and associated departure buildings of the Eastern Docks.
Ferry services
Operator | Destination | Fleet | Ship notes |
---|---|---|---|
P&O Ferries | Calais | 4 vessels:
| |
DFDS Seaways | Calais | 3 vessels: | |
Dunkirk | 3 vessels: | ||
Irish Ferries | Calais | 3 vessels:
|
The Eastern Docks also used to be served by the following, all now defunct:
- MyFerryLink
- LD Lines
- SeaFrance
- Norfolkline
- Stena Line
- P&O Stena Line
- Townsend Thoresen
- Normandy Ferries
- Sealink (later Sealink Stena Line) and four companies under the tag:
An adjacent freight terminal (with three loading cranes) is scheduled to be repurposed under port redevelopment plans but can currently be used by ships of up to 180 metres (590 ft).
Western Docks
This part of the port is formed by the western arm of the harbour, Admiralty Pier, and its associated port facilities. Recently the focus of a £250 million port redevelopment project co-financed by the European Union.[17]
Cruise ship terminal
Conversion and restoration of the historic former Dover Marine rail terminus, and the opening of a second, larger, cruise terminal building in 1996, have supported a significant expansion in cruise ship traffic. Cruise Terminal 2 is able to accommodate ships as large as the The cruise ship terminal can accommodate up to three ships at any one time.
In 2019 the Port of Dover accommodated 130 cruise ship port calls and over 200,000 passengers, making it the second busiest cruise ship port in the United Kingdom after the Port of Southampton.[20]
Cargo handling
Dover Cargo Terminal West opened in December 2019, replacing berthing and handling facilities at the Eastern Docks. Two new berths can accommodate ships of 340 metres (1,120 ft) and 240 metres (790 ft) simultaneously with a minimum quay depth of 9.5 metres (31 ft). The new purpose-built cold chain and warehousing complex is capable of handling fresh produce, containers, project cargo, general cargo, breakbulk, grain and roll-on/roll-off.[21]
Marina
Marina facilities, primarily targeted at recreational sailing and power boating, are provided in both the historic Wellington Dock and adjacent to the cruise terminal and cargo wharves.
Access
The port is accessible by road from the M20/A20 (leading to
In fiction
A boat train at Dover Western Docks station is seen in the third episode of Inspector Morse, 'Deceived by Flight', which was filmed in 1989, prior to the station's closure in November 1994.
See also
- France–UK border
- Channel Ports
- Port of Calais
References
Notes
- ^ a b "About/Performance". Port of Dover. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ "A Dover Study - Dover Town Council". Dovertown.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- S2CID 225502755.
- ^ Esmonde Cleary, A.; DARMC; R. Talbert; J. Becker; R. Warner; S. Gillies; T. Elliott. "Places: 79646 (Portus Dubris)". Pleiades. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ISBN 9781445620084.
- ^ Biddle & Summerson 1982, pp. 755–64.
- ISBN 0801879922.
- ^ Harris, Oliver (2006). "Marshmen at work: Dover Harbour, 1583". Romney Marsh Irregular. 28: 13–21. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
- ^ Biddle & Summerson 1982, p. 755.
- ^ Sencicle, Lorraine (9 May 2015). "Admiralty Pier Part I 1836–1908". The Dover Historian. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
- ^ England and Wales High Court (Technology and Construction Court), Herbosh-Kiere Marine Contractors Ltd v Dover Harbour Board, [2012] EWHC 84 (TCC), delivered 26 January 2012, accessed 24 July 2023
- ^ "Stanlee Shipbreaking Yard". Dover Museum. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- ^ https://www.dover.gov.uk/Planning/Planning-Policy-and-Regeneration/PDF/Heritage-Strategy-Appendix-1-Theme10.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ https://www.britishpathe.com/video/coal-cable-car (film)
- ^ Thornton, Nigel (18 October 2020). "Dover Eastern Docks – The Advent of Drive on Drive Off (1952-53)". Dover Ferry Photos. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- Milestones. 22nd year of publication: 30–32. Autumn 1967.
- ^ "Dover Western Docks Revival". www.doverport.co.uk. Port of Dover. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
- ^ "Meyerwerft Website: Celebrity Cruises". Meyer Werft. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
- ^ "Port of Dover Welcomes the Return of Celebrity Silhouette". www.cruisebritain.org. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Port of Dover 2019 Annual Report & Accounts" (PDF). www.doverport.co.uk. Port of Dover. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Press Release". www.doverport.co.uk. Port of Dover. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
Bibliography
- ISBN 0116708328.
- Hendy, John (1988). Sealink Dover–Calais. Staplehurst, Kent: Ferry Publications. ISBN 978-0951350614.
- Hendy, John (1991). The Dover–Ostend Line. Staplehurst, Kent: Ferry Publications. ISBN 978-0951350652.
- Hendy, John (1993). Ferries of Dover. Staplehurst, Kent: Ferry Publications. ISBN 978-0951350690.
- Hendy, John (1997). Ferry Port Dover: the development of cross-channel vehicle ferries, their services and allied infrastructure. Staplehurst, Kent: Ferry Publications. ISBN 978-1871947472.
- Hendy, John (2009). Dover–Calais: The Short-Sea Route. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications. ISBN 9781871947939.
- Hendy, John (2011). Ferries of Dover: Through Five Decades 1960–2011. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications. ISBN 9781906608187.
- Hendy, John (2016). Dover-Calais. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications. ISBN 9781906608743.
- .
- Paterson, J. D. (1894). By Dover and Calais from early times to the present day. Dover: Printed at the "King's Arms" Printing Works. OCLC 12041086.
- Pattheeuws, Stephen (2015). The Ostend Ferry: from start to finish. Ramsey, Isle of Man: Ferry Publications. ISBN 9781906608804.