OS grid SJ321956 Purpose Cargo transfer Owner The Peel Group | Type Wharf Minimum depth 16.5 m (54 ft) Opened 4 November 2016 | |
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Location Seaforth, Liverpool, United Kingdom Operator Mersey Docks and Harbour Company | ||
Liverpool2 cgi video
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.
Contents
Time lapse construction of liverpool2
Development
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on 6 June 2013, with Sir Bobby Charlton and Kenny Dalglish present at the event. The emplacement of steel pilings commenced from October 2013 utilising 329 piles, weighing 47 tonnes each. 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.
By July 2014, dredging of a 27 km2 (10 sq mi) area of the River Mersey approach channel had been commenced by Van Oord. The extension was built on reclaimed land using the material dredged from the River Mersey, with the deepened approach channel providing the necessary clearance for visiting ships. Construction was delayed by 60 days during winter storms in 2014. 5.5m tonnes of material was dredged, involving a workforce of 440 specialists.
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. The first five cranes were delivered by the ship Zhen Hua 23. The intended opening date of December 2015 was missed, being moved to the summer of 2016, and ultimately rescheduled for the autumn. A first batch of six ZPMC-built cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes were delivered to the site in May 2016, arriving from Nantong aboard the ship Zhen Hua 25. Berthing trials began in June 2016, with MSC vessels participating in the procedures throughout the following months. A further six gantry cranes were added in October 2016; these being delivered by the ship Zhen Hua 8, also from Nantong. 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.
Operation
The terminal extension is able to accommodate two 13,500 TEU post-Panamax vessels simultaneously, As of 2016, the site is served by five Megamax cranes and twelve cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes, completing phase one of the development. The gantry cranes are remotely operated, from a logistics building 2 km (1.2 mi) away. The terminal has also gained the most advanced quayside to HGV automated transfer technology in Europe.
Future
Phase two of the development will include three more ship-to-shore cranes and an additional ten gantry cranes. The site will be served by eight Megamax cranes and 22 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes. This will allow an eventual capacity of 1m TEU for the site.
An upgrade to the Canada Dock Branch was announced in May 2016 that would allow up to 48 trains a day to visit the port. Upgrade of the line is expected to be complete by 2019. Consideration is also being given for improved road access to the terminal, from the M57 motorway junction at Switch Island, in order to ease the expected HGV congestion.