{{Short description|Part of Peel Ports}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{coord|51.4468|0.7444|display=title|region:GB|format=dms}}
{{Infobox company | name = Medway Ports | type = Subsidiary | industry = Ports and logistics | predecessor = Medway Port Authority | founded = October 1969 (as Medway Port Authority) | area_served = River Medway and The Swale | key_people = | services = Port operations, harbour authority, pilotage, conservancy | parent = Peel Ports (since 2005) | divisions = Port of Sheerness, Chatham Docks | headquarters = Medway, Kent, England }}
'''Medway Ports''' is a port operator in Kent, England, incorporating the Port of Sheerness and Chatham Docks. It forms part of Peel Ports, the second-largest port group in the United Kingdom.
'''Medway Ports''', incorporating the Port of Sheerness and Chatham Docks<ref>[http://www.medwayports.com/index.htm Medway Ports website]</ref> is part of Peel Ports, the second largest port group in the United Kingdom. The ports authority is also responsible for the harbour, pilotage and conservancy matters for {{convert|27.3|nmi|km}} of the River Medway, from the Medway Buoy to Allington Lock at Maidstone, and the Swale.
'''Medway Port Authority''' was created in October 1969 to bring together a number of independent companies took over the running of the Sheerness site for commercial use, once the Royal Navy had vacated in 1960.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Inside Olau: the life and death of a ferry company; Sheerness - Vlissingen 1974-1994|last=Ogilvie, Alan|date=1994|publisher=Ferry Publications|isbn=1871947235|oclc=832558109}}</ref> Chatham Dockyard closed in 1984 with the site being divided into three sections with Medway Ports Authority taking control of one section as Chatham Docks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-26615288|title=Chatham Dockyard: Lasting impact three decades on |publisher=BBC |date=31 March 2014 |access-date=3 April 2020}}</ref>
Medway Ports Authority was privatised, as Medway Ports, through a £37 million management buyout in 1992,<ref name="Independent1">{{cite news |last1=Murray |first1=John |title=Mersey may buy Medway: Possible ports sale sparks row over privatisation |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/mersey-may-buy-medway-possible-ports-sale-sparks-row-over-privatisation-1462399.html |access-date=2 January 2026 |work=The Independent |date=21 August 1993}}</ref> before being sold again in 1993 to Mersey Docks and Harbour Company for £104 million, just 18 months later.<ref name="Independent2">{{cite news |last1=Murray |first1=John |title=Trust ports stuck in a dry dock: John Murray explains why the Government is stalling over its plans for privatisation |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/trust-ports-stuck-in-a-dry-dock-john-murray-explains-why-the-government-is-stalling-over-its-plans-for-privatisation-1468863.html |access-date=2 January 2026 |work=The Independent |date=21 December 1993}}</ref>
On 22 September 2005, the MDHC was acquired by Peel Ports, part of the property and transport group Peel Group.
==Regeneration== Part of the Chatham Docks site is being regenerated as "Chatham Waters", a mixed-use development scheme promoted by Peel.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-24070421 Info at the BBC website]</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
Category:Ports and harbours of Kent Category:Peel Ports Category:Competent harbour authorities
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