The shipping platform

Location: Portsmouth is located on the S coast of England, in the Solent. General overview: The port is the second busiest cross channel ferry with expanding Continental Ferry Port consisting 5 Ro-Ro and passenger berths. In addition, there are a number of commercial wharves handling general cargo, containers, Ro-Ro cargo, and fuels which are handled by various operators. There are regular freight and passenger services to the Isle of Wight, the Channel Islands, France and Spain. Foreign trade consists of imports of fruit and vegetables from the continent and Mediterranean and bananas from South America. There is also a large Naval base with repair and drydock facilities. Traffic figures: Approx 3,580 vessels visit the port and 3,960,000t cargo, 28,000TEU's, 2,226,000 passengers, 758,700 cars, and 283,300 freight vehicles are handled annually. Load line zone: North Atlantic Winter Seasonal Zone II, Winter Nov 1 to Mar 31, Summer Apr 1 to Oct 31. Max size: Commercial berths: LOA 185m, draught 6.5m. Ferry Berth No 2: LOA 250m. Cruise vessel, LOA 198m has used the Albert Johnson Quay. Gosport MOD Oil Berth: LOA 190m, draught 10.0m.