Seaforth Dock
Encyclopedia
Dock (maritime)
A dock is a human-made structure or group of structures involved in the handling of boats or ships, usually on or close to a shore.However, the exact meaning varies among different variants of the English language...
and container terminal
Container terminal
A container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime...
, on the River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, at Seaforth
Seaforth
-Places:* Loch Seaforth, Scotland, Great Britain, United Kingdom* Seaforth Island, Scotland, Great Britain, United Kingdom* Seaforth, Jamaica* Seaforth, Merseyside, England, Great Britain, United Kingdom* Seaforth, Minnesota, United States...
, to the north of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. As part of the Port of Liverpool
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river...
and Liverpool Freeport, it is operated by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company , formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board , owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England...
. Situated at the northern end of the dock system, it is connected to Gladstone Dock
Gladstone Dock
Gladstone Dock is a dock on the River Mersey, England and part of the Port of Liverpool. It is situated in the northern dock system in Bootle. The dock is connected to the Royal Seaforth Dock to the north and what remains of Hornby Dock to the south...
to the south, which via its lock entrance
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
provides maritime access to Seaforth Dock from the river.
Despite planning permission having been obtained almost sixty years previously, work commenced during the 1960s on Liverpool's largest dock facility. The dock was the largest in the United Kingdom at the time of construction with the world's largest lock gates.
Opened in 1972, the site consists of about 500 acres (2 km²) and deals mainly in containers, oils, timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, fruit & vegetables, grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
and animal feed
Compound feed
Compound feeds are feedstuffs that are blended from various raw materials and additives. These blends are formulated according to the specific requirements of the target animal...
. The dock became a free port
Free port
A free port or free zone , sometimes also called a bonded area is a port, port area or other area with relaxed jurisdiction with respect to the country of location...
in 1984.
New terminals at the Dock
A fruit and vegetable terminal opened at the dock in 2008. The terminal primarily received produce from SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
A planned Post-Panamax container terminal extension will berth the world's largest container ships on the tidal River Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
side of Seaforth Dock. These ships transport up to 14,000 containers per ship. This facility will increase container throughput by 100%.
Improved rail connections increase throughput
Approximately 70% of the North West of England's freight runs through Liverpool. Seaforth container terminal is the prime container terminal for North America. Seaforth Dock is served by one rail line, the Canada Dock branch line. The Olive Mount rail chordOlive Mount chord
The Olive Mount chord in Liverpool, England, is a 300-metre stretch of railway track between Olive Mount Junction and Edge Lane Junction that provides access to the Canada Dock Branch .- History :...
at Edge Hill junction was re-opened early 2009 to increase the throughput of the service to Seaforth Dock by approximately 100%. The chord gives direct access for freight from the Port of Liverpool to the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. The chord also releases line capacity for a proposed partial re-use of the line for passengers serving mainly the proposed Liverpool FC Stanley Park Stadium
Stanley Park Stadium
Stanley Park is a proposed football stadium in Liverpool that if built, would become home to Liverpool Football Club. The stadium would have a capacity of 60,000 to 72,000 all-seated if built as originally planned...
. There are no proposals to extend passenger services to Seaforth Dock.
The reinstatement of the chord was essential for existing port operations and ready for the 100% increase in freight when the planned Post-Panamax container terminal extension is ready at Seaforth Dock. A high throughput on the Canada Dock branch rail line is essential for efficient port operation.
It is hoped the Olive Mount rail chord reinstatement will remove large road vehicles from congested areas around the port and major road junctions, such as Switch Island
Switch Island
Switch Island is a road junction south of Maghull and near Aintree in Merseyside, England on the Liverpool rural-urban fringe. The junction is at the western terminus of both the M57 and M58 motorways, which converge on the A59 trunk road, the north-south route from Liverpool...
, giving many environmental benefits.
Wind turbines
In 1999, Peel Energy installed six VestasVestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
V44-600kW wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s along the river wall for a total nameplate capacity
Nameplate capacity
Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity or maximum effect, refers to the intended technical full–load sustained output of a facility such as a power plant, a chemical plant, fuel plant, metal refinery, mine, and many others.For dispatchable power,...
of 3.6MW.