Liverpool named world's top port

Liverpool (United Kingdom) has beaten off stiff competition to be named the world’s top port, it was announced Tuesday, October 30.

Peel Ports – which runs the Port of Liverpool and the linked Manchester Ship Canal – has won Port Authority of the Year for “its operations in Liverpool”.

It saw off other major worldwide ports including Los Angeles, Antwerp and Valencia.

The judges – who read like a Who’s Who of the global shipping industry – cited the Port of Liverpool’s “heavy investment” and “progressive and innovative approach”.

The Port of Liverpool carries more than 33 million tonnes of cargo every year and is the UK’s leading west coast port.

When completed in 2015, the Port of Liverpool’s deep-water container terminal will simultaneously accommodate two of the new breed of super post Panamax container ships.

Currently the Port of Liverpool can handle container ships carrying up to 3,500 TEU. With the new deep-water terminal, this will increase up to 13,500 TEU.

It will save costs for shipping lines, importers and exporters, reduce emissions, and cut congestion on UK roads and rail.

Widely considered the Oscars of the global container shipping, the Containerisation International Awards are held yearly to honor the industry’s leading lights.

The Port of Liverpool managing director Gary Hodgson said, “We are delighted to receive this award, and see it as recognition of all the hard work put in by the port’s employees over the last few years.

“We have been given tremendous support by businesses across the UK as well as by global shipping lines, and we are truly grateful for it. This award is a timely endorsement of our decision to invest £300m in our new deep-water terminal set to open in 2015.”

In 2011 Lord Heseltine wrote a landmark report with Sir Terry Leahy entitled, 'Rebalancing Britain: Policy or Slogan? Liverpool City Region – building on its strengths'.

In it he said, “Liverpool’s port…has been growing, is profitable and is in the top five nationally in terms of tonnage. It is poised to grow further as international trade increases.

Under the common ownership of Peel Holdings, the very nature of the Port has transformed, with a multi-modal model that spans the river and Manchester Ship Canal.”

Lord Heseltine welcomed today’s news. He said, “It’s fantastic that all this good work and the city itself is being recognized on the world stage.

And I am absolutely delighted that the £300m investment is going ahead, which will transform the port into one capable of really capitalizing on changes in global container shipping over the next few years.”

Liverpool2 is the key project in the Mersey Ports Master Plan, the 20-year vision for growth and future developments at the Port of Liverpool and on the Manchester Ship Canal – launched by Peel Ports last year.

Liverpool2 will connect directly to a number of port centric logistics hubs along the Manchester Ship Canal via barge – resulting in the development of the UK's first "green logistics hub" which will reduce costs, congestion and carbon footprint for businesses located in the North West of England, serving the north of the UK.

This will allow global shippers to access the UK's major import centers via the most economic and lowest carbon route and provide Northern UK-based exporters with a more competitive route to market.

The construction program comprises of a new 854-metre quay wall, the in-filling of the newly created land-mass, the dredging of a new 16.5-metre deep berthing pocket adjacent to the quay wall, the installation of ship to shore quay cranes and modern cantilever rail mounted gantry cranes (CRMGs) and associated supporting infrastructure works.

The quay wall contractor will be named in the near future, and further packages of work will be advertised, including design and consultancy services. The main contractor is infrastructure group Lend Lease. < Korea Shipping Gazette >