On Thursday 19 June 2025, the IPT were delighted to take a cross-party group of MPs to the Port of Dover in Kent. The visit was attended by Ruth Cadbury MP, Rebecca Smith MP, Olly Glover MP, Wera Hobhouse MP, Tony Vaughan MP, and Sean Woodcock MP.

The visit began with a journey through Dover from the train station and up to the famous White Cliffs, near the Dover Castle. Here MPs got to view the scale and size of the port from above, with our host CEO Doug Bannister, taking the time to explain and give context to what we were seeing. This included the different docks of the port, the security and customs check, and the contingency built into the port for traffic on busier days. Given it was such a clear day, we were able to see the French coastline, which illustrated the short distance of the strait.

From here, we travelled to the Port, where attendees heard from the operations lead and the technology lead. Both gave an overview of the work being done to decarbonise the port and shipping, and what they are doing to utilise technology and AI to streamline their operations. MPs then moved to the control room, where they got to see the operations in action and how they have implemented an AI system to predict the traffic heading to the port, so they can better plan what’s coming ahead.

The visit concluded back in the board room over a working lunch where MPs got to ask questions about what they had seen and heard about during the visit and to better understand the work and role of the Port of Dover.

We would like to thank the Port of Dover and their CEO for hosting this visit, and to all Parliamentarians who attended the visit.