FOR years it was the unmistakable sight that welcomed ships and their crew back home to the safe waters of Southampton. The Ocean Terminal, a cathedral of art deco design, was an immense dockside gateway able to cope with the world’s largest liners. Now another, far more modern building, bearing the same name is nearing completion in Southampton.

Vastly different from its earlier namesake, the new Ocean Terminal in the Eastern Docks, which will soon become a dominant waterfront landmark, has been constructed to handle the new generation of cruise ships now based in the city.

The ever-increasing numbers of vessels using Southampton Docks, each able to carry thousands of passengers, meant the port needed extra capacity over and above the three existing terminals.

Over the last 12 months work has been under way building the new £19m Ocean Terminal, which will accommodate up to 4,000 people at any one time, and which is expected to handle its first ship, the P&O Cruises’ vessel Oceana, on Saturday, May 9 this year.

Working in the original Ocean Terminal - click here

Creating a new terminal is a highly complex operation, as the building and surrounding area have to be able to deal with an almost constant stream of people arriving and departing, together with large numbers of passengers’ cars, fleets of coaches, and a non-stop convoy of lorries bringing ship’s stores.

Add all these requirements together and it quickly becomes clear that this needs to be no ordinary building.

The new Ocean Terminal, on the opposite side of the dock to where its predecessor once stood, certainly does not disappoint.

Will Jeffery, the senior project engineer for the terminal, said: “Function must always come before form, and successful operation is paramount.

“The Ocean Terminal is made of a steel framework and painted aluminium cladding while, nearby, will be eight acres of land for a longterm car park.’’ It has been designed to handle the vast mountain of luggage taken off a ship at the end of a cruise and, later the same day, another equally large number of bags and suitcases that has to be reloaded before departure.

With bigger and bigger cruise ships, passenger numbers have increased drastically, so the new Ocean Terminal has been built to ease the flow of people as they arrive on the dockside and check in before joining the vessel.

The space inside the building, divided into two separate floors, is huge, with enough room to accommodate 40 check-in desks and 1,500 chairs, together with a 350ft long baggage hall.

When passengers arrive at the terminal they will leave their vehicles at three long drop-off lanes all under a large curved roof. They then move into the building and take either an escalator, stairs or lift to the first floor, where they will go through security checks and join the ship.

Purpose-built mobile walk-ways, able to move up and down with the changing tide levels, will link the terminal to the entry point on the side of the vessel’s hull.

It was all very different when the great liners of yesteryear would gently come alongside the original Ocean Terminal – built in the late 1940s – when great passenger ships criss-crossed the Atlantic, providing a regular scheduled service.

An army of stevedores manhandled luggage and stores, while up in the terminal lounge representatives, each in their own uniform, from London’s top hotels and travel agents eased their guests through customs and immigration before they boarded the waiting boat train or were whisked away in chauffeur-driven cars.

Clement Attlee, the then Prime Minister, performed the terminal’s opening ceremony on July 31, 1950. The building continued to stand in the docks until 1983, when the decision was taken for it to be demolished.