DP World advances BOXBAY rollout at London Gateway after Jebel Ali trial

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DP World is moving its BOXBAY high bay container storage technology from a pilot operation in Dubai to its first commercial deployment at London Gateway, as the port operator expands automated capacity at one of the UK’s main container gateways.

The development was highlighted during a visit to Jebel Ali Port this week by UK Trade Minister Lord Anas Sarwar and Sarah Mooney, UK Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan and Consul General to Dubai and the Northern Emirates

The delegation toured Jebel Ali Port and the BOXBAY facility, where the storage concept has been tested before its planned commercial application in Britain.

The London Gateway installation represents a £170 million investment and forms part of a wider expansion programme intended to increase the terminal’s capacity and establish it as the UK’s largest container port by the end of the decade.

The technology is designed to address a basic problem faced by container terminals: how to store more boxes without continuously expanding the yard.

Conventional container yards generally stack boxes horizontally, which can require reshuffling when a container buried lower in a stack needs to be retrieved. BOXBAY instead places individual containers in a rack based structure, allowing direct access.

At London Gateway, the system will be dedicated to empty containers and will store 20 foot and 40 foot boxes as many as 16 tiers high inside a fully enclosed automated facility. The installation is designed for a capacity of about 27,000 TEU.

The facility will include 10 aisles and 15 automated storage and retrieval machines. Its waterside interface is designed to handle more than 200 container moves per hour, while 20 landside and 20 waterside transfer points will connect the storage system with trucks and terminal equipment.

For terminal operators facing limited land availability, the principle is straightforward: instead of making the container yard wider, make it taller.

BOXBAY says its high bay technology can provide substantially greater storage density than conventional systems because containers are stored individually rather than stacked directly on one another. The London Gateway project will be the first high bay installation specifically dedicated to empty containers.

The BOXBAY development sits alongside DP World’s broader investment programme at London Gateway.

The company is investing £1 billion in two additional deep water berths and a second rail terminal. DP World expects the expansion to make London Gateway the UK’s largest container port by the end of the decade.

Automation is already central to the terminal’s operating model. London Gateway uses remotely operated ship to shore cranes and 60 automated stacking cranes, while its fourth berth uses electric straddle carriers and other electrically powered terminal equipment.

The BOXBAY project adds another layer of automation, but its operational significance is particularly tied to empty container management. Empty boxes consume terminal space even though they carry no revenue generating cargo, making their storage and repositioning an important issue for ports and shipping lines.

DP World said the system is intended to increase yard capacity, improve safety and reduce truck turnaround times.

The ministerial visit also focused on trade between the UK and the UAE, with DP World positioning its port and logistics investments as infrastructure supporting cargo flows between the two markets.

Around 14,200 UK VAT registered businesses exported goods to the UAE in 2025, according to UK government trade data. Total UK exports to the UAE reached £15.7 billion during the four quarters ending in the fourth quarter of 2025, while total bilateral trade was valued at about £25 billion.

One point in DP World’s statement, however, has been overtaken by events. The company referred to progress towards a UK Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement. The UK government says negotiations have already concluded, with the trade deal agreed on May 20, 2026. The agreement is not yet in force because the UK and GCC member states must complete their respective domestic procedures before implementation.

For London Gateway, the immediate focus remains physical capacity. The move from the Jebel Ali BOXBAY pilot to a £170 million commercial installation gives DP World an opportunity to test high density vertical container storage at the scale of a major European gateway.