PORT facilities on Teesside could be on the brink of a boom as transport bosses look to ease a congestion crisis that is gripping the South Coast of Britain.

A report by the House of Commons Transport Committee last week highlighted ongoing problems caused by overcrowding along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, the English Channel.

Bosses at Teesport, the country's third-largest destination for deep sea containers, believe this is making shipping lines look elsewhere.

And its recent expansion places it at the forefront of the market in touting for business.

At present, the majority of imported containers destined for the region arrive in the South, placing a huge burden on its transport infrastructure.

PD Ports, the private firm which runs Tees and Hartlepool deepwater ports, said shippers were slowly coming around to the idea that goods for the North could be delivered direct to the region, rather than to Thamesport, Felixstowe, or Southampton container terminals.

David Robinson, PD Ports' managing director, said: "Our view is that the most logical route for those goods is through the closest port.

"The sea journey is a bit longer than by rail or road, but has infinite capacity. There is no congestion on the sea lanes."

Last month, Teesport opened its second container terminal, making it capable of handling more than 350,000 containers a year.

Operating at full capacity, this would create an extra 200 jobs, with knock-on benefits in other sectors, such as haulage.

The rise in demand for goods from Asia is expected to lead to a ten per cent increase in shipping to the UK next year - about an extra 120,000 containers.

Mr Robinson said: "Around three quarters of boxes going through the South to go back to Asia are empty.

"The North-East is a net exporter, so we are sending out goods in these containers.

"This is extremely attractive to shipping lines, because it gives them the opportunity to make money going both ways."

The group has already secured contracts for feeder services with Zeebrugge, Antwerp and Rotterdam, along with Felixstowe and expects to add more, bringing in another 40,000 containers a year, within six months.