The Manchester Ship Canal is one of the UK’s most vibrant trading hubs. Running from the Mersey Estuary into the heart of Manchester, it is a 36-mile-long seaway supporting a range of industries. Peel Ports Group ensures the Canal supports low carbon goals, forming part of a carbon-efficient ‘Green Highway’ which helping businesses make reductions in three important areas: costs, carbon emissions and road congestion.
There are a number of terminals along the Canal offering different capabilities and facilities:
QEII Docks – Liquid berth.
Ellesmere Port – Bulks and Project Cargo.
Runcorn Docks – Bulks and Project Cargo.
Port Warrington – Multi-user warehousing.
Port Salford (Third party operated quayside, warehouse and bulk store).
The Canal is thriving, and each year it handles and stores millions of tonnes of cargo from wind turbine blades to animal feed and biomass, to aggregates, sand, salt and chemicals. In addition to meeting many different shipping needs, the Canal can also support businesses with production facilities or construction hubs, as well as a wide range of commodities. With its superb position straddling Liverpool to Manchester, it is ideally placed to allow customers access to the rest of the UK, as well as mainland Europe.
The Canal has a wide range of berthing options, providing flexibility in size for vessel charter, along with existing manufacturing and production locations. With its strategic location, the Canal has excellent road, rail and sea connections and is within very close proximity to some of the country’s largest manufacturing and consumer bases. This means lower transportation costs than would be the case with a more southerly port, while allowing for a greener supply chain. Peel Ports also has planning permission for expanding on its current 3 million sq ft of warehousing.
- 3 million sq ft of potential warehousing available
- 36 miles of seaway comprising 7 terminals
- 8 million tonnes of cargo passing through every year
Peel Ports nominated as Port Operator of the Year
Peel Ports has made the shortlist for Port Operator of the Year at the prestigious 2021 Multimodal Awards for the logistics industry. As the country’s second largest port group, Peel Ports manages several key regional trading hubs for the UK economy, including major facilities in Liverpool, London Medway and Glasgow.
The nomination for the award comes on the back of a decade of strong financial performance and investment. Mark Whitworth, CEO at Peel Ports said: “Our company has transformed since 2011 and we believe the long-term approach we have taken with the business is a significant factor in being recognised as one of the UK’s top operators. The investment we have made into our ports and our wider logistics business continues to improve services for customers, create jobs and support the wider economy.
“Despite the challenges of Brexit and the pandemic, our team has risen to every challenge and continued to provide first class services to the supply chain. That gives us a lot of confidence that we are on the right track and I’m certain that even more successful times are ahead of us.”
The 2021 Multimodal Awards recognises excellence in air, road, rail, maritime, and freight forwarding services, with categories voted for by readers of the Multimodal newsletter and exhibitors and visitors to Multimodal. The awards ceremony will be held at the NEC in Birmingham on Tuesday 19 October 2021, with more than 650 guests from across the sector expected to attend.
