Liverpool2

Liverpool2 is a container terminal extension adjoining the River Mersey in Seaforth, Merseyside. The extension, built by Peel Ports, officially opened on 4 November 2016 and is an expansion of the Seaforth Dock container terminal.[1]

Liverpool2
Liverpool2 as seen from Seacombe in September 2020.
Location
LocationSeaforth, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Coordinates53.453°N 3.023°W / 53.453; -3.023
OS gridSJ321956
Details
OwnerThe Peel Group
OperatorMersey Docks and Harbour Company
Opened4 November 2016 (4 November 2016)[1]
TypeWharf
PurposeCargo transfer
Minimum depth16.5 m (54 ft)[2]
Quay length850 m (2,790 ft)[2]
Cranes
Cargo type
Transport links
Liverpool2 under construction, July 2016.

Development

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on 6 June 2013, with Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Kenny Dalglish present at the event.[3] The emplacement of steel pilings commenced from October 2013 utilising 329 piles, weighing 47 tonnes each.[4] In total, 19,000 tonnes of metalwork was used to form a 30 m (98 ft)-high, and 854 m (2,802 ft)-long, quay wall.[4]

By July 2014, dredging of a 27 km2 (10 sq mi) area of the River Mersey approach channel had been commenced by Van Oord.[5] The extension was built on reclaimed land using the material dredged from the River Mersey,[6] with the deepened approach channel providing the necessary clearance for visiting ships.[7] Construction was delayed by 60 days during winter storms in 2014.[8] 5.5m tonnes of material was dredged, involving a workforce of 440 specialists.[9]

The first five ZPMC-built Megamax ship-to-shore cranes were all on the quayside by November 2015, having been delivered from Shanghai, with eight of these cranes ultimately planned for the site.[10][11][12] The first five cranes were delivered by the ship Zhen Hua 23.[13] The intended opening date of December 2015 was missed, being moved to the summer of 2016,[8] and ultimately rescheduled for the autumn.[14] A first batch of six ZPMC-built cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes were delivered to the site in May 2016,[15] arriving from Nantong aboard the ship Zhen Hua 25.[16] Berthing trials began in June 2016, with MSC vessels participating in the procedures throughout the following months.[17] A further six gantry cranes were added in October 2016; these being delivered by the ship Zhen Hua 8, also from Nantong.[11][18] The extension was built at a cost of £400m and ultimately opened on 4 November 2016 by Liam Fox, the Secretary of State for International Trade.[6][19]

Phase two

Phase two of the development included three more ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and an additional ten gantry cranes.[20] After being completed, the site is served by 8 Megamax cranes and 22 cantilever rail-mounted gantry (CRMG) cranes.[21] This allows a capacity of 1m TEU per year for the site.[14][20][22] Peel Ports announced in July 2017 that it was proceeding with the expansion and that planning work had started to bring the remaining three Megamax and ten CRMG cranes to the port. The work also involved the installation of additional reefer points to allow the port to handle a greater quantity of refrigerated containers.[23] Peel announced in September 2019 that the new STS cranes were expected to arrive in November 2019 with all of the work being completed in summer 2021.[24][25]

An upgrade to the Canada Dock Branch rail line was announced in May 2016 that would allow up to 48 trains a day to visit the port. Upgrade of the line was expected to be complete by 2019.[26]

Operation
Liverpool2 in operation, August 2021.

The terminal extension is able to accommodate two 13,500 TEU New-Panamax vessels simultaneously,[27][28][29] the maximum size that can transit the Panama Canal.[30] As of 2016, the site is served by five Megamax cranes and twelve cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes, completing phase one of the development.[20] The gantry cranes are remotely operated from a control room at the terminal.[14] The terminal has also gained the most advanced quayside to HGV automated transfer technology in Europe.[31]

In March 2020, the terminal received its single biggest delivery to date, unloading 5,452 TEUs from MSC Federica;[32][33] a record which was improved upon in December 2020, with a delivery of 5,956 TEUs by MSC Tamara.[34] In October 2020, OOCL made Liverpool2 one of the permanent calling points for its trade between Europe and Canada.[35] Two months later, Maersk and MSC chose to change from using the Port of Felixstowe for their TA2 transatlantic shipping service, in favour of Liverpool2.[36][37] Around the same time, MSC launched a partnership with GB Railfreight to operate a five-days-a-week rail service between Liverpool2 and the East Midlands.[36][38]

Future

Consideration has also been given for improved road access to the terminal, from the M57 motorway junction at Switch Island, in order to ease the expected HGV congestion.[39]

See also

References
  1. Houghton, Alistair (3 November 2016). "Look at these stunning views from Port of Liverpool's massive new cranes". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. "Liverpool2 News" (PDF). Peel Ports Group. 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  3. "Peel Ports kick-off Liverpool2 project". Port Technology. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  4. "Liverpool2 construction enters key steel piling phase". Port Technology. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  5. "Dredging commences at Liverpool2". Port Technology. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  6. Modeva, Svetlana (4 November 2016). "Official Opening Of Peel Ports £400 Mln Liverpool Container Terminal (Video)". Vessel Finder. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  7. Siddle, John (28 May 2013). "£35m boost for Liverpool2 superport docks dredging programme". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  8. Hodgson, Neil (31 March 2016). "Liverpool2 gearing up for summer opening amid 'significant' industry interest". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  9. Hodgson, Neil (23 July 2015). "Liverpool2 on schedule as it prepares for the return of the world's biggest ships to the Mersey". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  10. Hodgson, Neil (23 November 2015). "Peel Ports offloads fifth and final Megamax crane at Liverpool2". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  11. "Mersey Liverpool2 Development Get CRMGs". Port Technology. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  12. "Liverpool2 Receives 'MegaMax' Cranes". Port Technology. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  13. "New cranes arrive in Liverpool". World Cargo News. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  14. "Liverpool2 gears up for autumn opening". Port Strategy. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  15. "Peel Ports Receives Huge Liverpool2 Crane Order". Port Technology. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  16. "CRMG cranes arrive in Mersey for Liverpool2 development". Liverpool & Sefton Chambers of Commerce. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  17. "Liverpool2 undergoes trials ahead of full opening". Insider Media Limited. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  18. "Six giant cranes arrive for Liverpool2". Insider Media Limited. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  19. "Liverpool's new £400m container terminal opens". BBC News. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  20. "30 ZPMC cranes for Liverpool2". Container Management. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  21. "Liverpool2 to feature Chinese Megamax cranes". World Maritime News. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  22. "Rail terminal part of Liverpool expansion". Railfreight.com. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  23. "Peel Ports starts second phase of Liverpool2 expansion". Business Cloud. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  24. McDonough, Tony (19 September 2019). "Peel begins multi-million pound expansion of Liverpool2 port terminal". Liverpool Business News. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  25. Ashmore, Jehan (12 January 2021). "'Liverpool2' Container Terminal's £400m Expansion Nears Next Phase of Completion". Afloat.ie. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  26. "Rail upgrades promised as part of Port of Liverpool developments". Rail Technology Magazine. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  27. "A New Deep Water Container Terminal". Peel Ports. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  28. "Liverpool 2 - Fast Facts". Peel Ports. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  29. "Peel Ports plans lavish official opening party for Liverpool2". Lloyd's List. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  30. http://www.pancanal.com/eng/maritime/notices/n01-05.pdf Archived 28 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  31. Hodgson, Neil (18 February 2016). "Peel Ports' £20m autogate investment will increase capacity at Liverpool2". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  32. "Liverpool2 records largest container delivery". Place North West. 2 April 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  33. McDonough, Tony (3 April 2020). "Liverpool2 handles record-breaking number of containers". Liverpool Business News. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  34. McDonough, Tony (14 December 2020). "Port of Liverpool smashes record for number of containers". Liverpool Business News. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  35. McDonough, Tony (3 October 2020). "Global shipping giant chooses Liverpool2". Liverpool Business News. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  36. Wackett, Mike (7 December 2020). "Maersk and MSC drop Felixstowe from transatlantic service and head for Liverpool". The Loadstar. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  37. "New Deep Water Terminal Liverpool2 Opens for Maersk and MSC TA2 Transatlantic Service". HeavyLiftNews. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  38. Walton, Simon (7 December 2020). "New intermodal flow connects Liverpool with East Midlands". Railfreight.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  39. Traynor, Luke (22 July 2016). "Calls for tunnel link from Liverpool2 terminal to Switch Island to ease lorry congestion". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
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