Port of Felixstowe

The Port of Felixstowe, in Felixstowe, Suffolk is the UK's busiest container port, dealing with 35% of the country's container cargo. It was developed following the abandonment of a project for a deep-water harbour at Maplin Sands. In 2005, it was ranked as the 28th busiest container port in the world and Europe's sixth busiest. The port handled 3.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of traffic in 2007, a ten percent increase on 2006.

The port is operated by the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company, which was set up under an Act of Parliament, the Felixstowe Railway and Pier Act 1875 and so, is one of the few limited companies in the UK that do not have the word "Limited" in their name. Much of the land on which it sits is owned by Trinity College, Cambridge which in the 1930s bought some land near Felixstowe which included a dock which was too small to be included in the National Dock Labour Scheme.

In 1967 it set up Britain's first container terminal. The dock was developed into Britain's largest container port. In terms of freight volumes Felixstowe is Britain's largest port handling nearly two-fifths of Britain's container trade.

Felixstowe has always been privately-owned. In 1951 Gordon Parker, an agricultural merchant, bought the Felixstowe Dock & Railway Company, which at the time was handling only grain and coal. In 1976 Felixstowe was bought by European Ferries. In June 1991 P&O sold Felixstowe to Hutchison Whampoa of Hong Kong for £90m. In June 1994 Hutchison Whampoa's Hutchison International Port Holdings bought out Orient Overseas International's 25% stake in Felixstowe for £50m.

The port has its own Port of Felixstowe Police, fire and ambulance services.