Location
United Kingdom / Europe
Project record
Southampton Channel Deepening capital dredge
Associated British Ports has applied to deepen Southampton Container Terminal Berth 5 to 17.1 m below Chart Datum and deepen the main navigation channels, including the Nab Channel, to between 14.0 m and 15.2 m depending on location. The application estimates about 5.5 million m3 of capital dredging including side slopes and a 0.5 m over-dredge allowance. A separate two-stage procurement for a principal dredging contractor closed its participation stage in February 2026. The reviewed Find a Tender family contained no contract award notice on 18 July 2026.
Segment
Dredging
Status
Marine licence MLA/2026/00178 remains submitted and open for consultation; the principal-contractor participation stage closed on 6 February 2026 and no award notice is published in the reviewed procurement family / Confirmed
Evidence reviewed
18 July 2026
Controlled taxonomy
Related sectors
The detailed segment above is the primary work classification. These broader sector links connect the project to related delivery and market research.
Knowledge context
Related knowledge topics
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Project anatomy
Scope, counterparties, and execution logic
- Client / authority
- Associated British Ports, Southampton
- Delivery parties
- Principal contractor under procurement; no award notice reviewed
- Contract route
- ABP launched a competitive flexible procedure under reference INF-SOT-25/1549. The first stage was a Conditions of Participation submission due at noon on 6 February 2026, followed by an invitation-to-tender stage. The UK4 notice listed an estimated award decision on 30 April 2026 and a likely 60% commercial, 40% technical assessment. The reviewed related-notice page contains the UK3 planning notice and UK4 tender notice, but no UK6 award notice.
- Execution window
- The procurement notice estimated a contract period from 31 October 2026 to 31 July 2027. The marine-licence application gives a physical-work programme from 1 December 2026 to 31 July 2027, with work upstream of the Hythe Pier to Weston Shelf Beacon line scheduled to finish by 14 March 2027 to avoid later salmonid migration windows. The application anticipates up to eight months of dredging and disposal, subject to approvals, weather and commercial vessel movements.
- Works package
- Deepen the SCT 5 berth pocket to 17.1 m below Chart Datum and deepen the Southampton main navigation channels, including the Nab Channel, to 14.0-15.2 m depending on location. The application estimates about 5.5 million m3 including side slopes and a 0.5 m over-dredge allowance, with maximum local depth removal of up to 1.3 m. The procurement includes dredging for disposal at sea and enabling measures for marine unexploded-ordnance risk.
- Marine interfaces
- The work crosses an operating container berth, live navigation channels and the offshore approach through the Nab Channel. ABP requires dredging beside an operational quay wall and in areas with buried pipelines while preserving port traffic and quayside operations. The delivery plan must also align UXO mitigation, sediment handling and sea disposal, weather exposure, salmonid timing controls and post-dredge hydrographic acceptance.
- Commercial read
- A 5.5 million m3 application volume makes this a major UK capital-dredging opportunity, but it is not an awarded quantity or final measured bill. The commercial exposure sits in material characteristics, plant mix, live-port sequencing, quay and pipeline proximity, UXO controls, sailing and disposal cycles, environmental conditions and acceptance tolerances. The contractor, contract value and final risk allocation remain unpublished.
- Next milestone
- Record the MMO licence decision and any conditions, then obtain the UK6 award or equivalent owner notice, named contractor, contract value, signed programme, disposal permissions, notice to proceed, baseline surveys, mobilisation evidence and accepted post-dredge depths.
Material change register
What changed, when, and what it proves
Only source-bound events that alter phase, scope, counterparties, delivery, completion, commissioning, or acceptance are listed. A change can advance the record without proving the next gate.
MMO register kept the application open for consultation
The live register showed case MLA/2026/00178 as submitted, with consultation closing on 30 July. That is a consent process, not a licence decision or permission to mobilise.
Read controlling sourceABP submitted the capital-dredge application
The application defined the SCT 5 and channel depths, approximately 5.5 million m3 volume, maximum 1.3 m local cut and proposed December 2026 to July 2027 work programme. These are proposed works until licensed and contracted.
Read controlling sourceABP launched the two-stage contractor competition
The UK4 notice opened the Conditions of Participation stage for capital dredging at Southampton and in the Nab Deep Water Channel. It did not disclose a usable contract estimate or select a contractor.
Read controlling sourceABP announced the planned procurement
The UK3 notice first set out the principal-contractor route, expected contract period and live-port, pipeline and UXO constraints before the tender opened.
Read controlling sourceDelivery watch
Evidence needed next
Record the MMO licence decision and any conditions, then obtain the UK6 award or equivalent owner notice, named contractor, contract value, signed programme, disposal permissions, notice to proceed, baseline surveys, mobilisation evidence and accepted post-dredge depths.
Decision watchpoints
- MMO consultation close, consultee responses and licence decision for MLA/2026/00178
- Principal-contractor award, contract value, signed scope and notice to proceed
- Reconciliation of procurement dates with the proposed physical-work programme
- Pre-dredge hydrography, geotechnical basis, UXO mitigation and buried-pipeline controls
- Dredged-material classification, licensed disposal route and vessel-cycle assumptions
- Accepted SCT 5 berth, main-channel and Nab Channel depths after completion
Project availability status
This public project page is a tracked market record rather than a tender notice, contractual commitment, or commercial instruction. Use the status, confidence label, evidence-review date, and source note together when judging how much weight to place on the signal.
Read featured analysis Review methodology Submit stronger evidence or a correction Open project trackerSource record
MMO case MLA/2026/00178 controls the project geometry, approximately 5.5 million m3 application volume, proposed December 2026 to July 2027 work period, salmonid timing boundary and current submitted status. The live public register displayed consultation closing on 30 July 2026 when reviewed on 18 July, later than the original statutory notice's 23 July representation date. Find a Tender controls the procurement route, participation deadline, indicative weighting and estimated contract dates; it does not identify an award. ABP's Southampton page provides the existing SCT 5 depth of 16.5 m and current port context. ABP's April 2024 widening record is a separate 900,000 m3 completed project and is used only for local ground, traffic, UXO and winter-window context. Its Magnor photograph does not depict the proposed 2026-27 works.
Phase: approval. Evidence reviewed: 18 July 2026.
Project sources 7
- 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 Channel Deepening UK3 planned procurement notice Associated British Ports via Find a Tender, 22 December 2025
- 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