Container vessel MSC Tamara called at the Port of Liverpool and unloaded a record number of containers – beating the previous record set by MSC Federica in March. Tony McDonough reports
A container vessel at the Port of Liverpool has unloaded 5,956 containers – setting a new record for the Liverpool2 deep water terminal.
MSC Tamara broke the record set by MSC Federica in March, which unloaded 5,460 containers. The vessel part of MSC’s new Turkey – Liverpool service, includes calls in Turkey, Spain, Portugal, France and Liverpool.
Port of Liverpool owner, Peel Ports, says the last 12 months have been a turning point for many supply chains and this has been achieved in the context of a market that has been significantly impacted by changes in global supply chains, the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.
Peel added its arrival signifies the current strength of the Port of Liverpool on the global trading stage. Last week LBN revealed that Maersk Line and MSC 2M Alliance was to switch its vessels on a transatlantic route to Liverpool from Felixstowe.
In 2016 owner Peel Ports Group, invested £400m into the container terminal enabling it to handle 95% of the largest ships in the world, whilst supporting the UK haulage sector via the very latest landside automated gates and vehicle booking systems.
It now claims Liverpool is one of the most operationally efficient and modern terminals in Northern Europe. The deep-water terminal offers ‘future-proof’ facilities, enabling global shipping companies reliable access to major import and export centres at the heart of the UK.
Peel Ports, in conjunction with its partner global terminal business Terminal Investment Limited Sarl (TiL), is continuing to develop the deep-water terminal which includes the multi-million expansion at Liverpool2, to further increase capabilities and support increased demand.
The next phase of growth will see delivery of an additional ten new CRMG cranes at Liverpool2 from January 2021 and the introduction of an additional three ship-to-shore cranes into live operations
Work on this second phase of the landside project is expected to be fully completed in the summer 2021, and will be supported by more than 150 new skilled jobs in Merseyside.
David Huck, managing director at Peel Ports Group, said: “Liverpool2 is not new to record-setting. In March this year we broke a new terminal record and with this week’s MSC Tamara call, Liverpool2 is once again showing what it’s capable of on a global stage.
“Over the last few months, we have sent a clear message to the sector that our ports are not just open for business, but we are also driving forward with planned investments in our people, processes and technology.
“The growth that we are now seeing is testimony to our skilled workforce and the evolution we have witnessed in breaking the inefficient UK model of a dependency on south and south east ports.”