Merseyside looing to introduce hi-tech barges

With the imminent opening of the first berth of ‘liverpool2’, Merseyside is looking to become the gateway to the UK for imported goods. When operating at full capacity, it’s expected that Liverpool2 will be the destination for 1.5million imported containers, annually. The chief executive of Peel Ports’, Mark Whitworth, predicts that the opportunities presented by the opening of Liverpool2 will see the cities share on the UK container market rise from 7% to 20%.

However, this significant increase in volume could potentially come at a cost, with extra lorry journeys expected to contribute to the already congested roads of Liverpool.

However, a number of influential people in the Liverpool Maritime sector, including Mayor Anderson, are proposing that barges could be the way forward to counteract increased levels of road traffic. Forecasted plans suggest that that new, purpose built barges will be travelling from the deepwater ports of Liverpool2 up the Manchester ship canal and to the Salford docks, allowing for easier transportation to other areas of the UK.

As well as being a more environmentally friendly way of transporting potentially millions of containers per year, the introduction of barges builds its own business case by not only providing more efficient transportation methods between two powerhouse cities but also by reducing the possible negative implications to other businesses because of increased road congestion.

Shanghai Metal Corporation is one of China’s leading suppliers of containers and is almost definitely responsible for the construction of some of those 1.5 million containers.