Maritime Merseyside
One hundred years ago the Port of Liverpool was the premier port of the British Empire and home to one seventh of the world's shipping fleet. All the remarkable then, that last year was the port's busiest ever.
It handled 34.6 million tonnes of cargo - up from around 8 million tonnes 25 years ago. The increase is a clear indication of the resurgence of the Port of Liverpool, which handles more trade with the United States and Canada than any other port in the UK.
Over half of the UK's manufacturing capacity lies within a 125-mile radius of the port, a fact which has contributed to it become one of the fastest growing ports in the country, helped by lower operating costs and increasing congestion in the south-east ports. Its 400 or so dockers may be a fraction of the thousands who once thronged the docks, but that is only the tip of the iceberg for Merseyside's dynamic maritime sector.
Mersey Maritime, the agency which champions the local maritime industry, now represents over 1000 companies, including logistics giants such as Maersk, P&O, Bibby Line and DHL, as well as ship repairers, shipping lines, engineering, transport, warehousing and training companies. Together, the maritime sector provides around 26,000 jobs and accounts for 5.5 per cent of Merseyside's gross value added.
The 2005 acquisition of Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC) by Peel Holdings, the Northwest's biggest property developer, is central to the on-going resurgence of Liverpool as a port.
Peel is investing £90 million in doubling the capacity of
MDHC's Seaforth container terminal by building two new
riverside berths. This will enable it to attract container ships
handling up to 7,000 containers - some 60 per cent bigger than the
largest ships which Seaforth can currently handle - and speed up
vessel turnaround times.
Peel has also bought the former Cammell Laird shipyard at
Birkenhead, with a view to maintaining its maritime activities, and
it has stepped up developments at Port Salford, at the other end of
the 36 mile long Manchester Ship Canal, which it already owned,
with plans for a new multi-modal logistics centre for road, rail
and maritime freight. The Port of Liverpool and the ship canal are
now being marketed together under the Mersey Ports name. Together,
they handle more than 40 million tonnes of cargo a year, making
Mersey Ports the UK's fourth biggest port.
There is more investment and more growth to come. Mersey Maritime has published a 20-year Mersey Ports growth strategy which envisages a further £270 million being invested in expanding the port. Nor is Peel the not the only company putting its money into the Northwest's maritime sector. The ABP-owned Garston port, just along the Mersey, reported its best trading year for 20 years in 2006, while the Stobart Group is developing Port Weston at Runcorn into an integrated logistics centre on the Manchester Ship Canal.
One of the highest profile new supporters of the region's booming maritime sector is Tesco. In October 2007, the retailer started shipping wine from Antwerp to Liverpool's Royal Seaforth Docks, and then 40 miles up the Manchester Ship Canal to Irlam Container Terminal, in Salford. It was the first time in over 40 years that a major retailer had used the route for transporting goods.
Last autumn also saw the opening of a new multi-million pound cruise liner berthing facility at Liverpool's Pier Head. The £19 million, 350 metre long berth will enable major cruise ships to dock at Liverpool for the first time in over 30 years, creating over 160 jobs. More than 25,000 cruise passengers are already confirmed over the next 18 months, bringing an extra £2 million of spending to the region.
