Business, Freight News, Sea

A new era for the Port of Liverpool

[ November 4, 2016   //   Gary G Burrows ]

The new Liverpool2 container terminal was officially opened today (Friday 4 November) by the UK Secretary of State for International Trade, Dr Liam Fox MP.

The £400 million investment by Peel Ports, one of the UK’s biggest port operators, will provide a state-of-the-art ocean gateway for a catchment area of over 35 million people, almost 58% of the UK’s population.

The new deep water facility will complement the existing Royal Seaforth Container Terminal; each terminal will have an annual capacity of around 1 million containers. It will also allow Liverpool to handle some of the biggest cargo vessels in the world.

Liverpool currently has around 8% of the container market in the UK, and is already the country’s largest transatlantic port. This figure is expected to rise to between 15% and 20%.

Mark Whitworth, CEO of Peel Ports said: “Today marks the beginning of a new era for the Port of Liverpool. Our investment will help global shippers to transport cargo more efficiently to their end destination with lower costs, congestion and carbon emissions. Liverpool is in the right location, providing state-of-the art facilities and technology, and offers a real competitive advantage with a shorter supply chain and providing an all-water route right to the heart of the UK via the Manchester Ship Canal.”

He predicted that Liverpool 2 would create a new trading gateway for the UK, and Peel Ports was already exploring new opportunities, having recently signed a memorandum of understanding to promote trade routes between Liverpool and the west coast of South America via the Panama Canal.”

Peel Ports chief operating officer, Gary Hodgson, added: “Being able to compete on the scale offered by Liverpool2 is only one aspect of how we’re transforming the port. Our real driving force is a commitment to customers, whether shipping lines or cargo owners, and helping them to achieve their business vision.”

The occasion was marked with a major event for nearly 300 customers and stakeholders, featuring pyrotechnics and a performance by singer Alison Moyet.

Tags: port of Liverpool