Capital dredging
Southampton files for a 5.5 million m3 channel deepening
ABP's marine-licence application puts a number on the next Southampton channel job: about 5.5 million m3 across SCT 5, the main navigation channels and the Nab Channel. The berth pocket would reach 17.1 m below Chart Datum and channel depths would vary from 14.0 m to 15.2 m.
What changed
MMO case MLA/2026/00178 controls the proposed 5.5 million m3 volume, SCT 5 and channel depths, maximum local cut and physical-work window. Find a Tender controls the separate contractor competition and planned dates. ABP's current port page records SCT 5 at 16.5 m before this proposal. Its 2024 widening story supplies separate historical context and the lead image; neither proves that the 2026-27 project is licensed, awarded or under way.
Why it matters
This is not a repeat of the 900,000 m3 Western Docks widening completed in 2024. The new proposal reaches from a live container berth through the main channel system to the Nab approach, and it combines a much larger volume with buried pipelines, quay-wall proximity, UXO controls, sea disposal and vessel-traffic constraints.
Decision read
What remains open
Two decisions are still missing from the public record. MMO has not issued the marine licence, and the Find a Tender notice family does not identify the principal-contractor award. The procurement notice's GBP 0 value is not a zero-price contract. The application volume and depths are proposed design and licensing figures; they become delivered capacity only after award, mobilisation, dredging and accepted hydrographic surveys.
Next watchpoints
- MMO decision and licence conditions after consultation
- UK6 award notice or ABP contractor announcement
- Final contract value, scope, programme and risk allocation
- Ground model, UXO plan, pipeline controls and selected dredging plant
- Sea-disposal route, environmental windows and live-port sequencing
- Post-dredge surveys confirming SCT 5 and channel depths
Knowledge context
Related knowledge topics
Continue through the topic collections to compare this record with related projects, evidence guides, briefs, articles, reports, and performance records.
Sources used 6
- Marine licence public register: MLA/2026/00178 Marine Management Organisation, Application submitted 1 April 2026; live status reviewed 18 July 2026
- MLA/2026/00178 case summary and draft environmental appraisal Marine Management Organisation, 1 April 2026
- Southampton Channel Deepening UK4 tender notice Associated British Ports via Find a Tender, 12 January 2026
- Southampton capital dredging statutory notice Hampshire Chronicle via Public Notice Portal, 25 June 2026
- Port of Southampton location, services and berth information Associated British Ports, Current page reviewed 18 July 2026
- The Port of Southampton completes channel widening programme Associated British Ports, 2 April 2024
Corrections and methodology
Facts are dated to the source record above. IMWO updates the brief when procurement, award, delivery, or scope evidence materially changes.
Review methodology Open intelligence archive Submit a correction