Port of Tilbury

Port of Tilbury
Container ship Carpathia unloading at Northfleet Hope terminal
Location
Country	UK
Location	Tilbury, Essex
Coordinates	51°27′36″N 0°20′42″E / 51.46°N 0.345°E / 51.46; 0.345
Details
Opened	1886
Owned by	Forth Ports
Available berths	34
Website https://forthports.co.uk/tilbury-london/

Port of Tilbury
Port of Tilbury
Port of Tilbury shown within Essex
OS grid reference	TQ639761
Unitary authority	Thurrock
Ceremonial county	Essex
Region	East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Essex
Fire	Essex
Ambulance	East of England
EU Parliament	East of England
List of places UK England EssexCoordinates: 51°27′36″N 0°20′42″E / 51.46°N 0.345°E / 51.46; 0.345

The Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes. There are also facilities for the importation of cars. It forms part of the wider Port of London.

The Port of Tilbury lies on the north shore of the River Thames, 25 miles (40 km) downstream of London Bridge, at a point where the river makes a loop southwards, and where its width narrows to 800 yards (730 m). The loop is part of the Thames lower reaches: within the meander was a huge area of marshland. Gravesend on the opposite shore had long been a port of entry for shipping, all of which had used the river itself for loading and unloading of cargo and passengers. There was also a naval dockyard at Northfleet. The new deepwater docks were an extension of all that maritime activity.

The original docks of London, all built close to the City, were opened in stages by what was to become the East and West India Docks Company (E&WIDC) at the beginning of the 19th century. With the coming of the railways and increasing ship size, location close to the centre of London became less important than access to deep water, unrestricted sites and reduction in time spent travelling up the winding Thames. The Company had long been in competition with their rival, the London and St Katherine Dock Company (L&StKDC), and had been doing all it could to dominate it. The opening of the Royal Albert Dock by the L&StKDC, with its deepwater quayage, in 1880 had given access to the Thames at Gallions Reach, 11 miles (18 km) by river below London Bridge and downstream of the then principal London docks. The E&WIDC were forced to retaliate.

In 1882, an Act of Parliament allowed the latter to construct the docks at Tilbury; work began a fortnight later, and the first vessel to enter the docks was on 17 April 1886. This was the Glenfruin carrying the official party for the opening ceremony The opening of the dock took place at the beginning of the steamship era, and its location soon proved to be the correct one.