Port of London
The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea and including any associated docks. Once the largest port in the world, it was the United Kingdom's largest port as of 2020. Usage is largely governed by the Port of London Authority ("PLA"), a public trust established in 1908; while mainly responsible for coordination and enforcement of activities it also has some minor operations of its own.
| Port of London | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Location | Greater London, Essex, Kent |
| Details | |
| Opened | 1st century |
| Operated by | Port of London Authority |
| Owned by | Port of London Authority |
| No. of berths | 30 |
| Draft depth | 17.61 m |
| Employees | 45,000 (2015) |
| Statistics | |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 47,358,000 tonnes (2020) |
| Passenger traffic | 9,800,000,000 (2018) |
| Annual revenue | £4 billion (2015) |
| Website https://www.pla.co.uk | |
The port can handle cruise liners, roll-on roll-off ferries and cargo of all types at the larger facilities in its eastern extent. As with many similar historic European ports, such as Antwerp and Rotterdam, many activities have steadily moved downstream towards the open sea as ships have grown larger and the land upriver taken over for other uses.