Shipping giants looking to Liverpool2
TALKS are underway between the Port of Liverpool and major shipping operators about signing up to use the new Liverpool2 container terminal.
Gary Hodgson, managing director of the Port of Liverpool, told Post Business conversations were in their “early stages” but that “very interesting talks” had already been held.
He said: “It’s going to tick all the boxes for the shipping people.
“The business benefits of coming to Liverpool are very strong.”
Last week saw football legends Sir Bobby Charlton and Kenny Dalglish officially launch contruction work for Liverpool2, Peel Ports’ £300m in-river container terminal which will enable vessels carrying up to 13,500 containers to call directly at the Port of Liverpool.
But Mr Hodgson said he was not concerned the port had not yet secured any shipping companies.
He said: “If you look at London Gateway, which is due to be completed later this year, they haven’t announced anybody is signed up yet.
“It was never in our plan that we would have people signed up when we started work, we’re very confident in our business model.”
Major shipping companies include Maersk,ACL,CMA CGM and NYK Line but Port of Liverpool would not confirm which lines they had been speaking to.
Mark Whitworth, Group Chief Executive of Peel Ports, believes the investment in Liverpool2 will make an already strong commercial proposition “more compelling than ever”.
He said: “The Port of Liverpool has already seen increased interest from shipping lines and cargo owners.
“Over the last 18 months APL, Evergreen and Zim have started to offer weekly feeder connections into Liverpool, whilst MSC and CMA have continued to grow their long-standing feeder volumes through the port.”
Meanwhile, employment is under way at the Liverpool2 container terminal, which is predicted to create around 5,000 jobs.
Mr Hodgson told the Post about 500 jobs would be around the terminal itself, with a large number of positions in logistics roles at hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal.
He said: “I think the jobs will be spread across the city region.
“It would be silly to say they will all be in Liverpool.
“Jobs are starting now. We’ve propbably got 50 more people on site than last year and are creating more jobs every week.
“A lot will be temporary for the construction phase but once the equipment is here there will be a steady build-up.”
He added the Port of Liverpool was also keen to train apprentices and has taken on ten this year.
Doug Coleman, Liverpool2 Project Director, added: “There will be a substantial recruitment programme. “We’ve got hundreds of people to recruit and train in a whole range of roles including crane operators and mechanical engineers.”
Mr Hodgson said that despite views by some that many staff at the Port of Liverpool site were not local, 90% actually lived within 10 miles.
LIVERPOOL2 is due to open in 2015, a date Mr Coleman said is “ambitious” but designed to tie in with the completion of the widening of the Panama Canal for allow larger vessels.
He said: “Construction projects never run smoothly, especially when there’s a hostile environment like the Mersey involved.
“The 10 metre tidal range of the river presents a significant challenge.
“When you’re working below water things are always uncertain.”
Construction work will begin by coring the rock base of the Mersey and positioning metal tubes which will form the base of the new quay wall.
These tubes, which are 40 metres long and have a diameter of 1.8 metres, will then be driven into the rock core about 25m deep.
Just exposing the rock is expected to take until the autumn and then putting the poles into place is predicted to take a year after that.
Mr Coleman said: “The dredgers will then harvest material from the deep water channel.
“Material will be pumped behind the quay wall.
“It’s quite an impressive programme.
“We’ve got a lot to do from manufacturing new cranes to building a new quay wall.”
But the project director said it was in their interests to meet the 2015 deadline.
He said: “It’s such a significant investment we need to get on quickly to get a return on our investments.”
The new 854 metre-long quay wall will require 30,000 cubic metres of concrete for its capping beam.
Mr Coleman added he was pleased with progress made so far and said: “The last few months have seen an intense amount of planning and preparatory work completed on the scheme’s detailed design.
“ It is intensely pleasing that we remain on programme and there is a real sense of satisfaction that we are now in the construction phase of Liverpool2.”
And once Liverpool2 is completed, deredging work will carry on to ensure the new deeper channel does not silt up.
Mr Coleman said: “We’ll never stop dredging.
“That’s true of any of this kind of channel in the UK.”
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