21st April 2005

Thamesport (London) Limited is the third Hutchison Ports (UK) Limited (HPUK) port to receive the British Safety Council’s prestigious five-star award, following an extensive audit of the facility in late February 2005.

Thamesport achieved an impressive 4,261 points out of a total of 4,600 for the effectiveness of its safety management practices, giving it an overall score of 92.6%. This places it in the highly respected five-star “Excellent” category. Thamesport’s sister ports at Harwich and Felixstowe received the award in January and February respectively.

The primary aim of the BSC audit was to provide an independent external assessment of the safety management systems developed by the Port, and the effectiveness of their implementation. The audit covers 82 separate elements – from risk assessments to fire routes, First Aid provisions to emergency planning – within eight core areas - from safety organisation to continuous improvement - and crosschecks systems in place throughout the whole of the organisation, evaluating their effectiveness and providing feedback.

David Gledhill, Chief Operating Officer of Thamesport, said of the award:

“We are tremendously proud of this achievement, which is thanks to the great efforts made by all at the Port over the last eighteen months to reduce the number of accidents. Safety awareness runs through the core of HPUK’s port operations, and Thamesport’s award is further evidence of the Company’s ongoing commitment to the highest standards of education and training for its employees.“

He continued:

“As Thameport continues to attract an ever-increasing share of the container shipping market, it is imperative that we have robust safety management procedures in place to enable us to handle this traffic safely and securely. We will continue to strive towards our ultimate goal of a zero % accident rate”.

ENDS

Note to Editors:

For further information, please contact Rachael Jackson, Corporate Affairs Officer, on Tel. No: +44 (0)1394 604167, Fax No: +44 (0)1394 604943 or E-mail: jacksonr@hpuk.co.uk

Thamesport (TMP) is located in the heart of South East England, 10 miles from the M2 motorway, 35 miles from London. It is one of the UK’s busiest container ports.

TMP is a member of the Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL). HPH is the world's leading port investor, developer and operator with interests in 19 countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Today, HPH operates a total of 219 berths in 39 ports, together with a number of transportation-related service companies. With industry-recognised core competence in the effective and efficient management and operation of ports, the HPH Group handled 47.8 million TEU in 2004.