Originally Posted by
Paul D
... Permission was granted for the development in March 2007. The first berth could be ready in 2011.
I read in todays news that the NorthWest passage is presently has an ice-free path complete from end to end for the first time in recorded history.
Full article at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6995999.stm
div>
So can we expect to see post-Panamax container ships from the Pacific transiting the NorthWest Passage and coming to Europe from the North by 2008 or 2009? If so it makes Liverpool the post-Panamax port of choice for West-coast America as well as the traditional North Atlantic run.
Quick approximate measurements using GoogleEarth:
Liverpool - San Francisco via NorthWest passage 6,950 nautical miles
Liverpool - San Francisco using Panama Canal 7,120 nm.
Liverpool - San Francisco via Cape Horn 13,800 nm.
They had better get serious about upgrading rail access to the Port of Liverpool, reinstating Olive Mount is not going to be enough, not by a long chalk. Try 25kv electrification too and European loading gauge clearance.
Can the terminal plans accommodate still more expansion beyond two post-Panamax vessels when the demand presses? Plans for two rail routes (diversionary) into the Northern docks?
Bookmarks