Cabinet boss concerned by port delays (From Daily Echo)

• "

  loosehead wrote:
  

  southy wrote:
  

  Safehands wrote:
  Southy, Southampton does not have a shallow tidal range. Our double tide gives us a huge advantage over other UK ports.

  Southampton has the shallowest tidal range in the North Atlantic and its sub seas, our biggest range is Spring tides and has range of only 4.9 meters max, neap Tides can be only 0.9 meters range, The river Severn has a much greater tidal range the biggest in the UK.
  The double high tide just means it gets an hour longer slower moving water at high tide and can be a disadvantage as a ship needs the water movement under the hull to maintane steerage way with out the aid of tugs support.

  So Southy why if our tidal range is so Shallow is it all these huge cruise ships find it to be okay?
  Do you not think that the new super berths & the continuos dredging puts your argument into the shadows?

  You need to under stand this much what made Southampton port as big as it is was because passenger liners use to call into the a French port, and there was no point in wasting time and money to sail into the english channel just to call into a French port then back track out down the channel and head out to the Atlantic, it saved them time and money to leave Southampton head the French port then the Atlantic.
  Ports with a large tidal range dredge a lot less because of the speed of the out going tides keeps the silt suspened in the water and dumps it out in the sea, they also tend to have wider and deeper natural channels.
  But that not the problem, the longest Container ship do not call into Southampton and never will it can not get here not with out stopping all other shipping movements, these new continetal Container ships are going to be even longer and as wide as the Pam-max container ships they to will not call into Southampton.
  What you need to take into account is the lenght, width, draft of a ship, then you need to know what is the minimal speed that ship requires to keep steerage way.
  When they talk about those aircraft carriers making Southampton there home port, they was talking about mooring them where that old gas rig was moored where the Polish timber ships use to moor when waiting to come along side the quay to discharge."
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