Peel Ports has invested in a substantially larger vessel for its Manchester Ship Canal container service after another marked increase in demand from customers, with the introduction of the ‘Deniz’, a 260 teu capacity vessel that equates to more than a 60% increase in capacity compared to the previous vessel used.

Bigger and better, greener and leaner

The vessel will make up to four sailings a week between the Port of Liverpool’s Seaforth container terminal and Irlam Container Terminal near Trafford Park in Manchester. The service also makes calls en route at Ellesmere Port.

“The ‘Deniz’ will move in the region of 20,000 containers in 2013; that’s 20,000 fewer containers making the journey between Liverpool and Manchester by truck. In terms of carbon footprint that’s a huge saving, around 1000 tonnes of carbon and 1.3m km of freight taken off UK roads every year,” said Stephen Carr, head of business development at Peel Ports.

“We are currently developing a series of mini ports and multi-modal logistics hubs at various locations along the length of the Canal, which means customers will be able to move their goods from anywhere in the world right into the heart of the UK without touching an inch of road tarmac. The Manchester Ship Canal is a unique proposition which is transforming the way that many of our customers do business,” he added.

Peel Ports has operated a container barge service along the Canal since 2007. In 2009, the service handled 3,000 containers, a figure which had increased to 10,000 containers in 2011 and 15,000 in 2012.