A huge £400m project has seen a new fleet of cranes arrive on the River Mersey.
Several cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes were due to arrive at 2pm on Thursday as part of the Liverpool2 project, with the structures visible from Crosby beach at around midday.
Produced by Chinese manufacturer Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co (ZPMC), the cranes are the first of two deliveries set for 2021 which will complete the fleet already being used in the £400 million Liverpool2 project, as the Liverpool Echo reports.
It is hoped the new cranes will provide additional capacity for growing volumes of cargo.
It comes after the city region was granted freeport status as part of the Chancellor's spring Budget announcement on Wednesday.
Peels Ports Group said the deep-water terminal, which includes the multi-million expansion at Liverpool2, will increase capabilities and support increased demand.
And once complete, the Liverpool-based container terminal will be capable of handling the largest ships in the world.
Arriving from Shanghai, the cranes will have travelled 11,831 nautical miles to make it to Liverpool.
Each crane measures 35 metres in height with a weight of around 500 tonnes.
David Huck, Managing Director, Peel Ports Group said: “The dynamism and strength of the business gives us the confidence to continue to grow and invest.
"Throughout 2021, future-proofing will be at the forefront of our business model, driving forward with planned investments in our people, processes and technology.
“We are on course to achieve our ambitious growth plans to drive UK container market share to 20% by 2025. Liverpool2 is already one of the world’s most modern shipping terminals and we have no plans of slowing down any time soon.
"This recent delivery is testament to this and adds to three additional ship-to-shore cranes already delivered into live operations in December 2019.”
David added: “The combination of Brexit-related changes and the impetus provided by Covid-19 has highlighted the vulnerability of supply chains to disruption, prompting a significant number of businesses to look at bringing more activity back to the UK.
“Working closely with the world’s leading shipping lines, we hope to encourage more services to the Port of Liverpool to help alleviate some of the pinch points on supply chains that have previously relied on Southern ports. Improving supply chain resilience could help to support the UK Government’s levelling up agenda by rebalancing economic activity away from the South towards areas in the North.”
