The Port of London lies along the banks of the
River Thames in London, England; to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the
world, it is currently the United Kingdom’s second largest port, after Grimsby
& Immingham. The port is governed by the Port of London Authority (PLA), a
public trust established in 1908, whose responsibility extends over the Tideway
of the River Thames.
The port can handle cruise liners, ro-ro ferries and
cargo of all types, including containers, timber, paper, vehicles, aggregates,
crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas, coal, metals, grain and
other dry and liquid bulk materials. In 2008, the Port of London handled 53.0
million tons of trade (up from 52.7 million tons in 2007), including 2,007,000 TEUs
and 20.5 million tons of oil and related products.
The port is not located in one area, as it stretches
along the tidal Thames, including central London, with many individual wharfs,
docks, terminals and facilities built incrementally over the centuries.
The
Port of London today comprises over 70 independently owned terminals and port
facilities, directly employing over 30,000 people.
In 2007, London was the second largest port in the
United Kingdom by tonnage handled (52.7 million), after Grimsby & Immingham
(66.3 million). The Port of London however handles the most non-fuel cargo of
any port in the UK (at 32.2 million tonnes in 2007). With around 12,500
commercial shipping movements annually, the Port of London handles around 10%
of the UK’s commercial shipping trade, and contributes 8.5 billion pounds to
the UK’s economy.
In addition to cargo, 37 cruise ships visited the Port
in 2008.
In recent
years, there has been a resurgence in the use of the River Thames for moving
cargo between terminals within the Port of London.
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