Port of Liverpool – Take Two 18


The Port of Liverpool’s long wait is almost over. Owners Peel Ports has got the £1.6 billion refinance deal for its ambitious new Liverpool 2 in-river container terminal in place and the final Marine and Maritime Organisation licences were about to be secured as FBJ went to press. “We feel very confident, that we’re in a good place,” says managing director Gary Hodgson. “We’ve got a whole floor of Maritime Centre (Peel Ports headquarters at Liverpool’s Seaforth Docks) dedicated to the Liverpool 2 project team and work will start on demolishing on old warehouse on the site in April. Physical activity in the river will start in late May or early June and in fact we’re about to order the steel for the piles very shortly. The project is effectively live.” The first phase of the terminal is


due to open in mid-2015 – the rapid construction helped by the fact that a lot of the preliminary work has been done during the consultation period, allowing programme director Doug Coleman and the rest of the project team to hit the ground running. It is still a little too early to talk


about which shipping lines will be using the new facility, but one clue as to the potential customers is a planned visit by Peel Ports to the Panama Canal authority, which is about to complete a widening scheme – also in 2015, which is no coincidence. This will allow much bigger ships on the Transatlantic trades which are already one of Liverpool’s core markets. A further clue, adds head of


business development, Stephen Carr, is in the feeder services that have already been introduced. “Since we made Liverpool 2 a serious proposition, we have been talking to cargo owners more and the likes of BG are carrying Evergreen and Zim Line boxes into Liverpool and also APL is putting a lot of boxes on the Express Feeder service out of Southampton. We’re seeing 500-600teu exchanges on the feeder services to and from Rotterdam, which is incredible given that they have only been operating for a few months. And other lines are using the feeders on an ad hoc basis.” The hope is that some at least


of these services will blossom into ‘super feeder’ services with ships of several thousand teu – a trend that is already apparent in other areas of the world, such as the Far East – or possibly even direct deepsea calls. Carr states: “You’ve only got to look at how Rotterdam is developing


Super port will be ready for super ships soon


Issue 2 2013


///NORTH WEST


whole ‘Super Port’ initiative is being built around these broader skills, without which it would be very difficult to sell the concept.” Hand on heart, the port had been a little bit light in this area before but it is now working hard to catch up – and also to reach out to local schools and youngsters to attract them into the industry with events in schools or apprentice open days, for example. There is a long maritime tradition in Liverpool, of course, but that does sometimes mean that kids’ perceptions of what it’s like to work in shipping are


gleaned


berths for 15,000teu ships, which will want feeder ships of at least 3,000teu.”


Carrying on up the Canal The Manchester Ship Canal, meanwhile, handled 15,000 containers in 2012 but if the January 2013 volume is extrapolated over an entire year, annual volume would jump to 20,000teu, “and that’s even if we don’t add new customers”. Existing users include cereal firm Kellogg’s, Princes Foods, Kingsland Wines and outdoor clothing firm, Regatta. There have also been some interesting trial customers, including another major apparel firm. Back in Liverpool, Peel Ports is


considering whether to create a fourth multi-user warehouse. The formula with these is to provide space for activities such as storage or container destuffing on demand, from a single pallet space upwards without the customer


having


to worry about fixed overhead costs like leases – rather like a small business incubator unit. “In fact, we are considering building a speculative warehouse,” adds Hodgson – something that has rarely been seen in UK ports these past several years. There has been plenty else going


on in the port, though somewhat overshadowed by the ‘big ticket’ Liverpool 2 development. Liverpool is not just about containers. Boxes currently account for about 15- 16% of the port’s total tonnage, and even with Liverpool 2 fully on stream it’s highly unlikely that they would amount to more than 30%. “Retaining diversity is very important to us,” says Hodgson. Peel has just signed off on an


£8m programme to extend the capacity of the animal feed terminal by 60%, centralising some existing facilities currently in other parts of the port. It is also concluding an investment in the new automated steel


handling


old steel faculties were big but not particularly sophisticated, and it was hard to keep track of shipments. The new one will be able to track coils in real time and the port will also offer a door-to-door service on a 4PL basis. “It’s less hassle for the customer; it means he doesn’t have to find a haulier himself,” Hodgson explains. Carr adds: “It’s a relatively small


investment but it will be a real step change and it exemplifies Peel’s approach of always trying to add value. A lot of ports see themselves mainly as landlords, but we try to extract more value for the end user, which is what we think port centric logistics is all about. If you like, you are creating a certain ‘stickiness’ with your cargoes, giving the customer a reason to stay.” Bulk and containers are often


considered very different segments of the market, but there is increasing cross-over between the two. Cargoes like grains, steel and biomass that once might have been considered pure bulk frequently move in containers, and the picture also changes frequently, adds Hodgson. Some of the grain and biomass markets are quite niche, although they also have the potential to develop to the point where they can justify bulk shipping. “For example, a lot of bulk steel went into containers, but now it’s swinging back again. Liverpool is one of the relatively few UK ports that can cater for both bulk and containers.”


The human factor It’s easy to get carried away by cranes, berths and concrete in the ports industry but none of this investment would work without people to keep it running. Hodgson is equally committed to developing Liverpool’s human resources. Having taken on 12 apprentices last year and committed to a further ten this year, he now wants to develop much more bespoke


schemes, terminal which,


says Hodgson, “will take us into a whole new arena.” Liverpool’s


bearing in mind the very specialised and sophisticated kit that will be introduced over the next few years.


Coupled with an ageing


workforce, “there is a clear need to up-skill. The cranes we’re buying will be highly automated and we’ll need software skills as much as engineering or electrical ones.” Supply chain management and logistics skills will also become much more important as the port centric concept develops. The port is developing a


University Technical College in conjunction with two local training organisations, Mersey Maritime and Liverpool Community College. “In fact,” says Hodgson, “the


from Granddad’s


tales of being a stevedore in the 1960s – fascinating stuff, but not necessarily an accurate reflection of what goes on today. It’s also important to promote the idea of a career in this diverse and exciting industry as a real alternative to university, which has become less affordable for many families. “People are beginning to think about this industry a little differently,” says Hodgson, “though I wouldn’t yet say it’s yet a natural choice. But our existing apprentices are perhaps our best advert and the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport is also


doing a good job in getting it onto the agenda.” These skills will all help the


port work better for its customers, points out Carr. To take one example,


while ports have


introduced vehicle booking systems (VBS) to try and manage the number of trucks turning up at the gate in any period of time. VBS has been effective in many other ports in reducing congestion at the dock gate but many hauliers – especially small ones – find them inconvenient and disruptive, especially if they miss a slot and then can’t get another for several hours. Liverpool took a step back and


developed a VBS that didn’t so much stop hauliers arriving when they want to but rather gave port management information on how many vehicles could be expected at any one time and allow them to flex resources up and down as necessary. The VBS will also bring the boxes due for pick-up first to the front of the area. “If it means hauliers can do three return trips per shiſt rather than two, it helps them and also us because it maintains the buoyant local haulage industry that we have,” says Hodgson.


Port backs university plan


Peel Ports is backing what it describes as the UK’s only Low Carbon and SuperPort University Technical College, which has just entered into its consultation period. The port group hopes that the University


Technical College – UTC – which is due to open in 2014, will give young people in the Liverpool City Region the skills they need to find employment in the ports and low carbon industries, including the new in-river container terminal at the Port of Liverpool, Liverpool2, which is due to open in 2015. Aimed at 14 to 19 year olds, the UTC will deliver a mix of academic and technical education


specifically geared around the engineering and logistics industries. As well as Peel Ports, other partners include


Liverpool Community College and Liverpool John Moores University, together with the City Council, the Eldonians Group, Laing O’Rourke, Arup, Balfour Beatty, EON and other employers. Students will benefit from work placements,


guest speakers and an employer-led curriculum, as well as involvement in real life projects. The new College will also have longer term times and operate business hours to help students prepare for work.


Anyone for Deniz?


Less than a year aſter its last vessel upgrade in May 2012, Peel Ports has invested in a still larger vessel for its Manchester Ship Canal container service – thanks to a marked increase in demand from customers including Kellogg, Princes Foods and Kingsland Wine. The Coastal Deniz can carry 260teu - more than


60% more than the previous vessel used - and will make up to four sailings a week between the Port of Liverpool’s Seaforth container terminal and Irlam Container Terminal near Trafford Park in Manchester. The service also calls en route at Ellesmere Port. Head of business development at Peel Ports,


Stephen Carr, said: “The Deniz will move in the region of 20,000 containers in 2013. In terms of carbon footprint that’s a huge saving – around 1,000 tonnes of carbon and 1.3 million km of freight taken


off UK roads every year.” He added: “We are currently developing a series


of mini ports and multi-modal logistics hubs at various locations along the length of the Canal, which means our customers will be able to move their goods from anywhere in the world right into the heart of the UK without touching an inch of road tarmac.”


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