Marchwood Military Port | |
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Location | |
Country | UK |
Location | Marchwood, Southampton |
Coordinates | 50°53′36″N 1°25′20″W / 50.893282°N 1.422268°W |
Details | |
Opened | 1943 |
Operated by | Associated British Ports |
Owned by | HM Government |
Employees | 150 civilian 600 military |
Marchwood Military Port (MMP) or Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre (SMC) is a military port located in Marchwood, Southampton on the south coast of the UK, and the base of 17 Port & Maritime Regiment Royal Logistic Corps. The port was built in 1943 to aid in the D-Day assault on Normandy in 1944 and has since been used to support the Falklands War. The port is now used largely by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, as a base for their ships, including the Tide-class tankers, and it is also still employed for military cargo and personnel movement.
Marchwood is also the base-port for several Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships.
In August 2020, it was announced that the port would be converted to civilian use, with the Ministry of Defence retaining use of an element of the port.