Liverpool2 welcomes its first post-panamax containership

Arrival of the first post-Panamax vessel follows the opening of Phase 1 of Liverpool2 last November. Owner Peel Ports had embarked on three-year project costing GBP400m ($488m) to cater for the larger vessels passing through the widened Panama Canal, which opened last summer.

Previously, the Port of Liverpool’s existing Royal Seaforth Container Terminal could only accommodate vessels up to 4,500 teu.

“This is a huge milestone for Peel Ports and the Port of Liverpool,” said Mark Whitworth, chief executive of Peel Ports Group. “While we (now) have the capacity to handle vessels up to 20,000 teu, smaller post-Panamax ships are still very much part of our overall strategy and it’s essential that we can accommodate those too.”

Peel Ports is also aiming to attract and Asia – Europe mainline call to Liverpool2 despite the diversion that would be required from the normal route taken.