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16


Issue 3 2020 - Freight Business Journal


///NORTH WEST


Extraordinary times


These are unprecedented times for the North-west of England, as indeed it is for the rest of the world. But people still need to eat, and vital medical supplies need to get through. The region’s ports and the freight industry have kept going regardless.


Biggest container volume ever for Liverpool2


Peel Ports’ Liverpool2 deep- water container terminal has handled its largest ever cargo volume


in a single vessel


call when the MSC Federica exchanged a total of 5,452teu imports and exports. The vessel is part of MSC’s


Turkey Canada service with calls including Montreal,


Liverpool,


Sines, Valencia, Barcelona and Tekirdağ. It also directly links Liverpool to the Far East. Managing director at


Peel Ports, David Huck, said: “This record is a testament


Esprit ploughs a lonely Channel on the Ship Canal


With the closure of the Irlam Container Terminal by Peel Ports, it’s leſt to Esprit Warehousing and Docks and a handful of other fi rms to maintain freight traffi c on the Manchester Ship Canal. “It’s been leſt to us to try and fl y the fl ag, says group director, Graham Dixon. Nevertheless, he is not


downhearted: “We have a couple of large organisations trying to negotiate rates to use the Canal, which could one day see a revival


in regular bulk traffi c. And there are still a handful of major projects using the Canal, though no more than about one or two a year.” With the redevelopment of


Pomona Wharf for housing, Esprit’s terminal is the last working dock in Manchester and as such is Highways England’s designated closest point to the city centre. This means that any abnormal loads destined for central Manchester must travel by water as far as


Esprit’s wharf with only the last few miles by road. The problem with reviving


traffi c on the Canal, Dixon says, is that it needs a lot of time and commitment, and it’s also very chicken-and-egg. “The cost of dredging the Canal currently has to be split between the relatively small number of loads that use it, so costs are proportionately higher. If there was more traffi c, those costs could be reduced proportionately.”


to the investment we’ve put in to ensure state-of-the-art technology, including our fi ve ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and 12 rail mounted gantry cranes to help make our world-class staff as effi cient as possible. At diffi cult times like these, businesses want to know that their supply chains are able to cope with the increased demand and this demonstrates that the Port of Liverpool is ready to meet their needs.” Peel Ports is continuing to


develop the deep-water terminal in conjunction with global ports business Terminal Investment Limited. It has recently taken delivery


of a further three STS cranes which are being commissioned


While the Canal is doubtless a


superb piece of ‘green PR’ for those fi rms that opt to use it, without the backing of a large fi rm like Peel Ports, any decision to use it must also wash its face fi nancially, and it is this that is proving such an obstacle to its revival. Over the years, Dixon has


tried to interest local authorities in developing traffi c such as household waste, building a hub for construction material moving in and out of Manchester city centre, or even parcels deliveries but so far to no avail. Meanwhile,


Esprit’s main warehousing business remains


and will soon see a further 10 rail-mounted


gantry cranes


which will increase the capacity of the terminal to two 380m


vessels simultaneously. Work on this second phase


of the project is expected to be completed during 2021.


Irlam container hub


Peel Ports’ has closed the Irlam container terminal on the Manchester


Ship Canal,


citing insufficient volumes. It handled a twice-weekly barge operating between the port of Liverpool and the upper reaches of the canal. The canalside terminal


appears to have fallen victim to a cash-raising drive by Peel Ports’ owners, which also


strong, says Graham Dixon. It moved into its second warehouse at Manchester’s Traff ord Park in November 2019 and the new site was fi lled almost immediately, and has remained so ever since, he says. Esprit off ers a range of bulk and


palletised storage space, much of it in the food sector – which should provide a degree of resilience in uncertain times. The second site is two minutes


from the existing one, which makes it simple to redeploy staff from one site to the other, as necessary. Traff ord Park is still one of Europe’s leading industrial sites


owns Liverpool, Clydeport and Medway ports in the UK. Last month, it was reported that property


tycoon John


Whittaker was to sell a 25% stake in Peel Ports Group to Melbourne-based pension fund investor AustralianSuper. Whittaker also sold a 35% stake in


Liverpool John Lennon


Airport to fund manager Ancala Partners last year.


and suitable space can be hard to fi nd at times, says Dixon. Esprit has no immediate plans to


add further space; it is consolidating its existing operations and, like any business, will want to know which way the economic wind is blowing before making major commitments in terms of future investments: “I think we’ll tread water for a year or two and take our breath. The COVID-19 crisis will no doubt have a big impact and it is going to aff ect confi dence. But as we are heavily concentrated in the food business, we’re still very busy, and we have a very good bunch of people working for us.”


Peel Ports shuts


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