Summary
DP World is bringing four quay cranes to its UK ports this autumn, the company said in a release on 1 October 2026. The first pair arrived fully assembled by sea at London Gateway on 25 September, at the end of a round the world voyage from Shanghai. DP World says the cranes in that first pair weigh more than 2,000 tonnes each and stand nearly 150 metres high, which it says makes them taller than the London Eye and St Paul’s Cathedral. They will be installed at Berth 5, an all-electric berth still under construction as part of a £1 billion expansion of the port, which DP World expects to become operational in 2027. The company said two more cranes were scheduled for delivery to the same berth in the coming months. The second pair was due to arrive at Southampton in the week after the 1 October announcement. Those two follow a pair delivered to Southampton in June 2026 and bring the number of cranes servicing the terminal to 16. DP World put the cost of the four Southampton cranes delivered in 2026 at £60 million. Southampton is the UK’s third largest container port, and DP World says it provides major connections to Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Built for 24,000 TEU ships DP World describes the four as among Europe’s largest quay cranes. They can carry out consecutive tandem lifts, picking up two 40ft containers at once, and can work the largest container ships currently in operation, including megaships of 24,000 TEU. Kris Adams, DP World CEO UK Ports & Terminals, said: “Trade powers our growth and prosperity, so the UK needs world-class infrastructure capable of handling the demands of maritime trade. These new quay cranes represent another major investment in that infrastructure, which is boosting UK productivity, employment and national income.” Robin Mortimer, chief executive of the Port of London Authority, said: “The arrival of two new electric cranes at London Gateway is another clear sign of growth within the Port of London.” He added: “It is positive to see that the cranes are also electric, supporting our ambition of achieving Net Zero.” Satvir Kaur, MP for Southampton Test, called them “epic cranes” in the same release and said the investment “helps further cement our position as one of the UK’s major centres of international trade”. Close to half of UK container trade DP World published the crane announcement alongside a report on the economic effect of London Gateway. The company says the port and its logistics park support 10,500 UK jobs and £799 million of GDP, and that its London Gateway and Southampton operations together handle 46 per cent of UK containerised trade. DP World calls London Gateway one of the UK’s fastest-growing container ports. The expansion adds two all-electric berths, taking the number in operation to six, plus a second rail terminal. DP World expects the work to make it Britain’s largest container port before the end of the decade. In 2025 the two terminals handled more than 5 million TEU, against a UK total of more than 10 million. London Gateway alone handled a record 3 million TEU that year, 50 per cent more than the year before. Sources: