Project record

Southampton Channel Deepening capital dredge

Aerial view across Southampton Container Terminal and its operating quay frontage

Associated British Ports

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.

Project signal

Approval in United Kingdom

Current 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 Source confidence Confirmed

Location

United Kingdom / Europe

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

Last checked

18 July 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Dredging is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

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 evidence boundary
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.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

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.

Source

ABP 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.

Source

ABP 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.

Source

ABP 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.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • 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

Related records 2

Reporting status

Approval, confirmed confidence

Last checked 18 July 2026 across 7 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 18 July 2026 Cited sources 7

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 7