Three giant quay cranes taller than the London Eye have arrived at the £1.5Bn London Gateway container port in Essex, taking the number of cranes on site to eight, ahead of the formal opening of the new deep sea port next month.

Eventually the port’s 2.7km long Thamesside quay will feature 24 quay cranes spread over six berths. As many as 12,000 jobs could be created at London Gateway, which occupies the site of the former Shell Haven oil refinery.

Arrival of the cranes coincided with a locomotive naming ceremony at a new rail terminal on site. The ‘DP World London Gateway’ loco will be operated by rail freight operator DB Schenker between the port and freight terminals in Manchester and Daventry.

Last week the port was called into action at short notice to provide an emergency berth for a fire damaged container ship. Boxes were discharged from the vessel and loaded on to a freight train for onward delivery.

London Gateway is billed as the perfectly situated container port. Fifteen million people live within an 80km radius and a large logistics park is being built alongside to unload the contents of container units for dispatch by road or rail. Bringing port and warehouses closer together could, it has been claimed, take 2000 lorries off the country’s roads every day.

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