DRIVERS are being warned of traffic mayhem in Southampton as five cruise ships set sail today.

A33 West Quay Road is set to be gridlocked from this afternoon with departures starting at 4.30pm.

Aurora and Navigator of the Seas are set to leave then, followed by Seven Seas Voyager at 6pm, AidaPrima at 9.30pm and Astoria at an undisclosed time of day.

Council highways chiefs have said that they monitor the roads at all times and have "plans to cope with those occasions when the capacity is tested by events".

It means even more congestion after four ships departed in the space of 90 minutes yesterday afternoon.

John Harvey, highways manager at Southampton City Council, said: “Southampton is proud to be the cruise capital of Europe. The city welcomes millions of cruise passengers from the world over every year, all of which travel through and contribute to the economy of the city.

"In recent years the council and partners have invested significantly in the city’s road network, including redeveloping Platform Road to increase capacity and ease congestion especially around Dock Gate 4.

"The council has also worked with the cruise operators to ensure timely travel advice and information is provided to passengers.

"We constantly monitor the road network and have developed plans to cope with those occasions when the capacity is tested by events, ensuring that motorists are given up to date advice to be able to make informed decisions about their journey.

"In recent weeks we have had a number of times when multiple cruise ships have been in port, including the maiden voyage of the world’s biggest cruise liner. There have been no major delays on the network.

"Southampton is a thriving city and the council manages the traffic 24/7 with constantly changing travel demands. We are not expecting significant disruptions in the city.

"However, all road networks have capacity constraints and people should accept that there will be times on busy days when journeys will take a little longer.

"We would advise road users to keep an eye on travel updates from the local media and to follow @scchighways on Twitter for the latest news.”  

Earlier this year, Southampton was named as one of the most congested cities in the country, with West Quay Road being one of the worst for backed up traffic.

The TomTom traffic index, which monitors congestion around the world, named Southampton the 20th most jammed up city in the UK.