Port of Dover

The Port of Dover is a British seaport and is situated on the Strait of Dover in the English town of Dover. He is one of the largest passenger ports in Europe. Here 14 million travelers annually released (for comparison, in Piraeus, the biggest 20 million ). About the Ferry go every year 700,000 lorries, 1.6 million cars and motorcycles and 118,000 buses. These goods are valued at 15.5 billion pounds.

Infrastructure

The Port of Dover is in the Eastern Docks and Western Docks divided, which are about a kilometer apart. The Eastern Docks in the east of the port include the Hauptfährterminal. There are nine Fährbrücken with corresponding terminal buildings for the loading and unloading of the ferries available. The adjacent freight terminal can be used by each of a ship up to 180 meters in length. For loading and unloading are three loading cranes available.

The Western Docks to the west of the port accommodate the cruise terminal of Dover. This is located on the Admiralty Pier and consists of the rebuilt hall of the former station Dover Marine, which was closed in 1994, and a new building. It can be handled up to two cruise ships simultaneously.

East of the cruise ship terminal is the Hoverport, which was used from 1968 until its decommissioning in 2000 for clearance of SR.N4 hovercraft ferries. Until the bankruptcy in 2005 Hoverspeed used the terminal nor for the handling of catamaran fast ferries, from February 2007 to November 2008 the area was part of the catamaran ferry operators Speed ​​Ferries ( also in bankruptcy ) are used. Between the cruise terminal and Hoverport is the entrance into the harbor of Dover.

The port is accessible from Folkestone on the A20 trunk road, an extension of the M20 motorway from London and Canterbury from the A2, an extension of the M2 motorway. From the port is a bus to the train station Dover Priory, where for trains to the stations Charing Cross and Victoria in London and Ramsgate.

Ferries

The shipping companies P & O and MyFerryLink offer daily up to 53 connections to Calais and DFDS Seaways / Norfolkline up to twelve to Dunkerque. All shipping companies operating out of the Eastern Docks.

The opening of the Euro Tunnel in 1994 and the end of the hovercraft hovercraft connection to Calais in 2000 had a negative impact on the volume of passengers from, after which the number of ferry services has been reduced several times.