Thames Ports Overtake Felixstowe In Container Traffic Shake-Up

London Gateway and Tilbury have jointly handled more containers than Felixstowe, marking a significant shift in the balance of Britain’s port activity and potentially reshaping routes used by fresh produce importers.

The Thames estuary has overtaken Felixstowe as Britain’s busiest location for container port operations, according to new figures reported by The Times.

London Gateway and the neighbouring Port of Tilbury handled a combined 3.7 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEU, during 2025. Felixstowe handled 3.6 million TEU over the same period.

The figures, published in the latest Lloyd’s List One Hundred Ports ranking, indicate that Felixstowe has lost its position as Britain’s leading container port location for the first time in 45 years.

However, there is an important distinction: Felixstowe remains the country’s largest individual container port, while the Thames total combines traffic from London Gateway and Tilbury.

The change is nevertheless highly significant for Britain’s international supply chains, including the movement of imported fresh fruit and vegetables. London Gateway has increasingly positioned itself as a major entry point for retail and perishable goods, supported by direct road and rail links and its expanding logistics park.

Its rapid growth is remarkable given that the port opened only in 2013 on the site of a former oil facility. London Gateway alone handled more than three million TEU last year, with Tilbury accounting for the remainder of the Thames ports’ combined total.

The shift has been driven partly by changes to the networks operated by the world’s largest shipping lines. The Gemini Cooperation between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd moved services from Felixstowe to London Gateway, a decision that Lloyd’s List said cost the Suffolk port around a quarter of its business almost immediately.

Felixstowe has since secured additional Asia-Europe traffic through an agreement with shipping lines from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan operating through the Premier Alliance.

Meanwhile, London Gateway, owned by Dubai-based DP World, increased its traffic by around a third as new berths expanded its capacity. Its continuing development means it could eventually overtake Felixstowe as an individual port, rather than only as part of the combined Thames operation.

Lloyd’s List suggested that the latest result may signal a lasting change, saying there was “every chance this could become a trend rather than an exception”.

Both UK locations remain relatively modest by international standards. The Thames ports and Felixstowe were placed 61st and 62nd respectively in the global ranking, immediately behind Barcelona.

Rotterdam, Europe’s largest container port, handles approximately four times the volume of the British ports, while Shanghai, the global leader, processed 55 million TEU during 2025.

For the UK fresh produce sector, the changing port landscape could influence future shipping schedules, inland distribution routes and investment in port-based logistics as London Gateway continues its rapid expansion.