I would like to begin by thanking our outgoing CEO, Sarah West, for her leadership over the past year. It has been a challenging period, yet Sarah’s commitment, resilience and passion never wavered. She leaves the organisation in a significantly stronger position than when she began, and we are grateful for the foundations she has laid.

At the start of the year, we faced the announcement that Gemini Corporation – the new alliance between Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd – would no longer be calling at Felixstowe. We estimated this would result in a £15 million reduction in revenue, with substantial implications for our people, our operations and the surplus we reinvest into the local community.

Rather than react with uncertainty, we responded with focus and determination. Working in close partnership with the Port of Felixstowe, we reaffirmed our commitment to delivering first-class customer service, clearly articulated our value proposition and positioned the Haven as an outstanding place to do business. As a result, new services – including the Premier Alliance FE4 service – alongside increased calls from Evergreen and MSC, have more than offset the anticipated loss. What began as a significant risk has ultimately delivered a strong profit for the year.

Our 2023 channel deepening programme, which created the deepest trade gateways anywhere in the UK, continued to deliver tangible benefits. In 2025, we welcomed 67 vessels with a draught exceeding 16 metres, including five of the deepest-draught vessels in the world at more than 17 metres. This capability underlines our strategic importance to UK PLC and reinforces the Haven’s attractiveness to global shipping lines.

We were pleased to showcase this proposition to senior government stakeholders, including the Department for Transport’s Maritime Director, Lola Fadani, and the new Maritime Minister, Keir Mather MP, who visited with their teams in November. Throughout the year, we have remained actively engaged with government on key consultations covering safety, skills, decarbonisation and renewable energy, including advising on the routing of subsea cables connecting offshore wind to the shore.

In 2025, we were delighted to establish a new strategic partnership that will bring innovation and long-term value to the Authority. Working with Entopy, we have designed and developed our own digital twin for the Haven. This capability will enhance productivity across the port and, in collaboration with the Port of Felixstowe and Svitzer, further improve operational effectiveness and the customer experience.

Safety remains at the heart of everything we do. I am proud that our safety KPIs once again reflect our core value of “making safety the standard” throughout 2025. Alongside this, our three additional values – connecting as one team, leading with expertise, and creating positive impact – have been successfully rolled out and embedded across the organisation. It is encouraging to see these values being actively embraced by colleagues at all levels.

Thank you to everyone who has supported Harwich Haven Authority in 2025.