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Issue 2 2012


New Merseyside box terminal ready by 2015


Peel Ports said on 5 March that it had started the procurement phase for the construction of its new deep-water container terminal at the Port of Liverpool. The landmark terminal, which will simultaneously handle two ships of up to 13,500teu, will be branded Liverpool 2 – echoing the Liverpool One retail and office development in the city centre - and will be open for business in 2015. The construction programme


includes a new 854 metre quay wall, in-filling of the new land, dredging a new 16.5 metre deep berthing pocket adjacent to the quay wall, installation of


ship to shore quay


cranes and modern cantilever rail mounted gantry cranes (CRMGs). The project has been advertised


in the Official Journal of the European Union – a statutory obligation for a contract of this size – and is calling for a principal contractor for the development of the terminal and another for the dredging, infilling and quay wall construction work. Further packages of work will


be advertised during the second quarter of 2012, which will include


design and consultancy services. The £300m scheme 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 summer. Peel Ports Mersey managing director Gary Hodgson


said:


“There is no doubt that this facility represents a transformational project for the business. It will bring jobs and economic prosperity


to the Merseyside region along with the rest of the North West. By any standard it is a significant development and a major investment. By commencing the procurement process today, we have shown our commitment to the building of Liverpool 2.” “This is a clear message to the


industry, to our stakeholders and to the community in the Merseyside Region and the greater North West that we are serious about the growth and investment we outlined


in the Mersey Ports Master Plan consultation last year. It is great news for our customers and for the people of the North West of England, both of whom will see massive benefits from Liverpool 2.” Hodgson assured the local


community: “Where possible, we will source goods and services locally. However when we need to source goods over a longer distance, we will seek to transport construction materials by sea directly to the port.”


Axe local trains to make way for freight, urges Felixstowe chief


Hutchison Ports UK chief executive officer David Gledhill has called for off-peak passenger trains on the Ipswich-Felixstowe


line to


be axed to create more paths for freight trains. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony for the port’s new North Rail Terminal on 14 March, he said that with the partly single-track Felixstowe branch remaining “something of a bottleneck”, replacing the off-peak passenger train service with “a high quality express bus service” running direct to Ipswich town centre would free up capacity for more 30-wagon freight trains. He said: “Rail is oſten portrayed as being the green travel alternative. And usually it is, but not if you are using a large diesel train to transport a very small number of people-sometimes a very small


number like three of four – just a few miles. The carbon footprint per passenger for each of these journeys is huge.” Lightly used passenger services


“are keeping a 30-wagon freight train off the network. Each freight train could easily take 60 HGVs off the road,” he argued. Upgrading the branch line to


double track would be prohibitively expensive and unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, he said. Hutchison Ports is not proposing


axing the Felixstowe branch service entirely. Morning and evening peak hour services are quite heavily used, with many passengers connecting at Ipswich with inter-city services to London, he conceded. Gledhill concluded: “We hope that all interested parties will


come together over the next few months to have a sensible debate about how we can, collectively, make the best use of this important asset.” The Anglia passenger rail passenger franchise will shortly come up for review, and this might be an opportune moment to look at the issue, he suggested. Speaking at the ground-breaking


ceremony for Felixstowe’s new North Rail terminal, under-secretary of state for transport, Mike Penning, said : “We will look at it. We need to utilise the route as much as possible.” He added: “There has to be a balance between passengers and freight – and freight has often been the poor relation.” However, he pointed out that his remit covered only rail freight services; decisions on passenger services would be made by the secretary of state for transport. He


added that he had also spoken with Felixstowe’s management about doubling the Felixstowe branch. Local politicians and press


suggested that the idea of replacing the train service had not gone down well. Felixstowe Mayor Doreen Savage said that it could damage relations between the local community and the port. A local journalist added that while some trains were lightly used, there were often sudden surges in demand – particularly in summer or when Ipswich Town were playing at home - that could seriously stretch any replacement bus service. And John Woollan, secretary of


Felixstowe Travel Watch, said that he was “horrified” at the proposal, especially as local groups had only recently succeeded in getting a regular hourly service on the line.


///NEWS


PD Ports lays the ground for growth


PD Ports has completed ground works for its programme to almost double its container handling capacity at Teesport. It involved the complete reconstruction of more than five hectares of the container terminal area with heavy duty paving to withstand the increased loads from the container stacks and the four new rubber tyre gantry cranes (RTGs). PD Ports has invested over £16


million as part of an overall £29 million project to expand capacity from 235,000 to 450,000teu, which will make Teesport the second largest


container port in the north of the UK. Chief executive of PD Ports Group,


David Robinson said that operator training on the new RTGs was completed ahead of schedule and the cranes are already in full service at the existing terminal. He added: “We are also well advanced in testing and implementing a new terminal operating system, which remains on schedule to be operational this summer.” The RTG cranes represent the


single biggest equipment investment at Teesport since the container terminal opened in 2003.


Hartlepool to be Windy City


PD Ports’ Hartlepool has been


appointed as the main


construction logistics hub for the Teesside Offshore Windfarm Project. Over months,


the next seven it will be the focal point


for all materials and components to be installed in the new wind


farm being developed by EDF Energy Renewables. Over 100 people will be


operating out of the project supply base established at the port and there will be dedicated assembly areas for the structures with direct access to the North Sea.


Work starts on


Felixstowe’s third rail terminal


Under-secretary of state for transport, Mike Penning gave the ceremonial green light on 14 March for work to start on Felixstowe’s North Rail Project, the port’s third terminal. It will be the first in the UK to handle 30-wagon (90teu) trains and will have three rail-mounted gantry cranes, increasing to six when the terminal is running at full capacity. Hutchison Ports Holdings


Central Europe managing director, Clemence Cheng, said that the new terminal would eventually double the port’s current 750,000teu a year intermodal capacity. Mike Penning added that, “along


with inland rail improvements, this investment will help to confirm the UK’s attractiveness for direct calls by the biggest container ships for many years to come.”


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