An illustration of the London Gateway project.

DP World said today that its new port and logistics center project, London Gateway, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2013 paving the way for estimated 36,000 new jobs.  The environmentally friendly global shipping center, located just outside London on the north bank of the River Thames, will have an initial container capacity of 1.6 million TEU’s and be capable of accommodating the world’s largest containerships, including the 18,000 teu giants being built by Maersk.

DP World, the Dubai headquartered group that is currently the world’s third largest port operator, has been laying the foundations for the new port since early 2010, and the company says it plans to invest an additional $1 billion in the project over the next three years.

DP World today also announced that over the next couple months the project will create an extra 1,000 new jobs for the UK, 700 new construction jobs and 300 new port jobs. Estimates predict that as many as 36,000 jobs will be created in the long term from the project, providing some £3.2 billion to the UK economy each year. The project has already created more than 600 jobs since January 2010 when major construction work started at the site.

“The importance of this project cannot be overestimated,” said Britain’s Business Secretary, Dr Vince Cable. “The announcement of these 1,000 new jobs today is a welcome boost to the UK.”

In addition to the opening date, DP World said it has awarded four major port equipment contracts to ZPMC and Cargotec.  ZPMC will provide eight quay cranes, which will be the largest in the world, able to handle the next generation container vessels of 18,000 TEU capacity. ZPMC will also provide rail mounted gantry cranes for the port’s rail terminal. Cargotec will provide automated stacking cranes and straddle carriers to be used in the port.

Brooklyn Bridge: 1883 – Brooklyn, New York

1. Spans the East River.
2. First steel-wire suspension bridge.
3. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.
4. Initially, Brooklyn Bridge was known as ‘New York and Brooklyn Bridge’. It was given its present name by the city government, in 1915.
5. With a main span of 1,595.5 feet (486.3 m), it was the longest suspension bridge in the world until 1903.

• www.nyc.gov

Tower Bridge: 1894 – London, England

1. Spans the River Thames.
2. Tower Bridge is sometimes mistakenly referred to as London Bridge which is the next bridge upstream.
3. Tower Bridge remains open on a daily basis. 10:00 to 18:30 – 1st April to 30th September, and 09:30 to 18:00 – 1st October to 31st March.
4. In 1974, the original operating mechanism was largely replaced by a new electro-hydraulic drive system.
5. In May 1997, the ‘unexpected’ opening of Tower Bridge divided the motorcade of US President Bill Clinton.

• towerbridge.org.uk

CONTINUE READING for 5 Amazing Photos of all 5 Amazing Bridges.

Golden Gate Bridge: 1937 – San Francisco, California

1. The Golden Gate Bridge has been closed three times for weather.
2. The color of the bridge is officially called international orange.
3. With a length of 1.7 mi it was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed.
4. The steel used to build the bridge was made in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania and shipped through the Panama Canal.
5. The bridge has approximately 1,200,000 total rivets.

• goldengate.org

Charles Bridge: 15th Century – Prague, Czech Republic

1. Spans the Vltava River and is the second oldest bridge in Czech Republic.
2. Eggs were used to enrich the mortar to make it bind to the stone blocks better.
3. The foundation stone was laid in 1357 on the 9th day of the 7th month at 5:31 AM. Charles IV chose this time so that the date and time were a sequence of odd numbers, 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1.
4. Capital repairs of the bridge took place between 1965 and 1978.
5. During the end of the Thirty Years’ War in 1648, the Swedes occupied the west bank of the Vltava, and as they tried to advance into the Old Town a battle erupted with the heaviest fighting taking place right on the bridge.

• charlesbridgemuseum.com

“Wind and Rain” Bridge: about 100 years old – Chengyang, China

1. Spans the Linxi River near the Dong village of Maan.
2. The Bridge was built without a single nail.
3. The bridge is a Unesco World Heritage site.
4. These bridges provided local residents with places to meet, relax, socialize and exchange views.
5. The “Wind and Rain” Bridge is protected as a valued cultural relic of Dong people of China.

Brooklyn Bridge Photos – New York

Photo of the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset.

Looking at Brooklyn and the bridge.

THEN – Historic Brooklyn Bridge Photo

NOW – Modern Brooklyn Bridge Photo

Old Historic Poster from the building of the Brooklyn Bridge

Tower Bridge Photos – London

Tower Bridge At Night (Photo from boston.com/bigpicture )

Ship passing under Tower Bridge.

Photo of the building of Tower Bridge – 1892.

Tower Bridge at Sunset

Tower Bridge – Miniland, Legoland.

Golden Gate Bridge Photos – San Francisco

The long reach of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge coming out of the Fog.

Historic Photo of the Golden Gate Bridge.

View from the Golden Gate Bridge.

A closer view for the Golden Gate.

Charles Bridge Photos – Prague

Boats on the Vltava River in Prague.

The magic of Charles Bridge and Prague.

Sunrise over Charles Bridge, Prague Czech Republic.

Charles Bridge Covered in Snow.

Charles Bridge At Nigh.

Painting Bonus: Fighting on Charles Bridge in 1648 during the Thirty Years’ War.

“Wind and Rain” Bridge Photos – China

Wind and Rain Bridge in China.

“Wind and Rain” Chengyang, China

A look inside the “wind and Rain” Bridge.

No nails were used in building the “Wind and Rain” Bridge.

Walking up to the “Wind and Rain” Birdge.

DP World, a Dubai-government controlled holding company and one of the largest marine terminal operators in the world, awarded a £400m contract yesterday to British firm Laing O’Rourke and Belgium’s Dredging International for the development of the first phase of the new port at London Gateway and is the first major contract granted for the £1.5 billion project.

London Gateway will be Uk’s first deep sea container port for over 25 years and offers an exciting opportunity for the UK economy and shipping industry as a whole.  It is set to be the most technologically advanced container port in the world and will be fully integrated with Europe’s largest logistics park.

The 1500 acre site is situated on the north bank of the River Thames near Thurrock in Essex. London Gateway will provide unrivalled shipping access for the world’s leading businesses through an integrated road, rail and sea network.

The project will lead to the creation of over 12,000 new jobs and will eventually handle an estimated 3.5 million TEU’s per year to help meet recognized demand for extra container capacity in the UK.

Actual construction will begin later this year and the logistics park is due to open in the second of of 2010, with the first ships are said to be arriving early 2011.

Sources: DP World, AFP,

John Clandillon-Baker of pilotmag has been featured along with his fellow London pilot (retired) Geoff Taylor in an article written by Libby Purves of The Times. This quote seemed to ring particularly true;

The human aspect of the job fascinated me. “I know what I’m getting into, from the first rung of the ladder and the angle of the captain’s head,” says Geoff. “I’m a psychologist, have to be. You get a sense of the ship – is it well run, is it happy, is it tense, how has it been for that month at sea? Is the master assertive or co-operative?” “Or bonkers,” says a Thames pilot. “A bad ship, you feel the rust on the ladder, you look up at the scruffy individual at the top who looks as if he’d like to stick a knife in you . . .” “You smell it,” says another.

The article can be found HERE and be sure to check back for a link to the BBC radio show of the same title.

The AP tells of an earthquake at 18:05GMT today located at 125 miles north of London England:

An earthquake struck Britain early Wednesday and was felt across large parts of the country. No injuries or damage were immediately reported.

The 4.7-magnitude quake struck at about 1 a.m. and was centered about 125 miles north of London, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

“It was like a huge freight train outside the front door,” Sky News reporter Lukwesa Burak reported from Leicestershire in central England. “The entire house seemed to shake.”

Live Earthquake Maps:

Google Earth – Past 2 Weeks Data
Live Earthquake data – past 2 weeks

If your looking for the latest information try these links:

• gCaptain’s Live Earthquake Data and Maps
• Live Seismic Monitor Europe
• Now Public | Earthquakes – Live User Generated News
• Live Seismogram readings

The stats for January are in and we would like to Congratulate and Thank our readers from London who, with 937 unique visitors, have squeezed out Houston, New York, Sydney and San Francisco for the title of most readers worldwide.

Here are the stats broken down by city:

Reader Statistics
January 2008

City – Unique Visitors

1. London – 937
2. Houston – 756
3. New York – 581
4. Sydney – 488
5. Melbourne – 399

Total Unique Visitors: 40,212

Source: Google Analytics

Note: Actual Statistics Are Higher (Google Analytics only counts readers with Javascript enabled so to have your city counted please turn off ad-blocking software and update to the latest version of your browser.)