The shipping platform

Location: River Medway, which rises near East Grinstead in Sussex, flows NE across the county of Kent, passing Tonbridge, Maidstone, Rochester and Chatham. General overview: The "Medway Ports" refer to a number of port facilities located on the River Medway in SE England close to the Thames Estuary. The list of ports include Sheerness (see separate entry), Isle of Grain (including Thamesport), Chatham Docks, Ridham Dock, Otterham, Rochester, Queenborough, Oakham Ness and Kingsnorth Power Station. Since privatisation, the port of Sheerness has been assigned the Competent Harbour Authority for navigation. Responsibility for land based operations remains with the individual port and terminal operators. A diverse range of cargoes are handles, including fresh produce, new vehicles, forest products, steel and containers. A two berth LNG terminal is situated on the Isle of Grain. Traffic figures: Approx 3,800 vessels, 13,150,000t of cargo and 258,000TEU handled annually. Load line zone: North Atlantic Winter Seasonal Zone II, Winter Nov 1 to Mar 31, Summer Apr 1 to Oct 31. Max size: Isle of Grain: Draught 12.5m MHWS, 11.3m MHWN. Chatham Docks: LOA 143m, beam 25m, draught 8.0m. Vessels over 143m can be accepted around HW.