Ocean Gateway

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Liverpool and Manchester join forces for £50bn Atlantic Gateway scheme
Mar 16 2010
by Alan Weston, Liverpool Daily Post

THE historic rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester should be buried if the region as a whole is to prosper, according to a new blueprint for economic growth.

Leaders from both cities agreed to join forces behind a major £50bn strategy which would see Liverpool turned into a world superport as part of an ambitious project to make the north-west an economic zone of international significance.

If realised, the Atlantic Gateway scheme could deliver 250,000 new jobs and 400,000 new homes by 2030, and establish an area of economic growth second only to London in the UK.

Peel Holdings’ Atlantic Gateway vision for the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal was first launched as a concept in 2008.

Representatives from all the areas affected have now agreed to work with the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) to turn the strategy into reality.

It crosses several local authority boundaries and includes 12 large projects including Runcorn Waterfront, Liverpool and Wirral Waters, Royal Seaforth Post-Panamax Container Terminal, Liverpool International Business Park (Speke Garston), Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Port Salford, Salford Forest Park, Media City UK, Ellesmere Quays, Port Wirral and Port Warrington, Trafford Quays, Trafford Wharfside and Salford Quays.

The scheme envisions berths for ships too big to use the Panama Canal being built at Mersey Docks and along the 44-mile Manchester Ship Canal, at Wirral, Ellesmere Port, Warrington and Salford.

Councillor Flo Clucas, deputy leader of Liverpool City Council, said: “The Atlantic Gateway shows the way forward for the Liverpool and Manchester City regions.

“Rather than being seen as rivals, this framework brings together these city regions with the potential for unrivalled and sustainable economic growth. Together we can become not only one of Europe’s leading economic regions but a global force.”

NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead added: “Atlantic Gateway is a bold and innovative collaboration across and between city regions to create a growth area which will rank among Europe’s strongest urban economies.”

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They will have to make the locks at Eastham wider to get post-Panamax ships up the Manchester Ship canal. They would need a draught of 25 foot maximum. But why would such a large ship spend a day getting up there and a day getting back? These are expensive ships to run when they are not at sea. The canal will need one-way traffic up the canal and back. The whole ship can be off-loaded very quickly at Seaforth and containers put onto trains and sent to near enough the destination.

Tis a bit odd WW.

The scheme envisions berths for ships too big to use the Panama Canal being built at Mersey Docks and along the 44-mile Manchester Ship Canal, at Wirral, Ellesmere Port, Warrington and Salford.


The Manchester Canal is not wide enough and is too narrow and not deep enough for any ship too big for the Panama Canal. Also the bridges across the Canal are not tall enough. They could widen the Canal, they could deepen it, but they would have one hell of a job to make the motorway bridges higher.
In 1961 I sailed down the Canal from Manchester, on a Manchester Liner bound for USA and Canada, I was stood on top of the ships telescopic mast after we had lowered it, and I shook the hand of one of the steel erectors as we passed under the M60 Bridge. so the air draught of the Bridge has to be considered.
The QE2 and Queen Victoria are amongst the biggest ships to pass through the Panama Canal, so I cannot see any ships of that size going to Manchester.

Kong, it is clear they are after container ships. The biggest ship to run up to Manchester was 36,000 tons. They sued all the canal width. Modern ship draw less water and tonnages are measured in various way these days. With lock gates widened at Eastham, an expensive task, very large ship of 25 foot draught can go to Manchester. Many very large container ships for sure. But not the big one. The Emma Maersk draws about 45 foot laden with around 13,000 containers. Modern low draught 7,000 container ships may get the Manchester. They could get the Emma Maeerk to Ellesmere Port by new locks and deepen that short part of the canal - which is in effect a linear docks. But again why? You would spend that money on Seaforth.

But why? Unless the containers are all for East Lancashire - highly unlikely - it will not reduce point to point costs of container transportation.

The Manchester Ship Canal was a white elephant. It was bound to fail. They would have been better having 3 or 4 large docks at Eastham and rail lines to Manchester to freight terminals there. The Canal was built to give a big city image for Manchester, not make costs cheaper for goods. They always griped Liverpool Docks over charged them. They never as Liverpool has always had surplus capacity. The rail companies were those who over charged. Common sense then build tour own cheaper railway lines.

Saying that, I love the canal.