First project cargo for Manchester Ship Canal’s barge service






ACL vessel Atlantic Concert carried a giant chemicals tank to the Ineos facility in Runcorn. Vessel carrying giant chemicals tank signals start of non-containerized traffic
The first project cargo has been transported on Peel Ports’ barge service on the UK's Manchester Ship Canal.
Until now the barge service operating between Liverpool and Manchester, a ‘Green Highway’ alternative to using the motorway network, has carried only containerized cargo.
The transporting of a giant chemicals tank to the Ineos facility at Runcorn signalled the start of non-containerized traffic.
The 30 meter high 20 tonne tank arrived at the Port of Liverpool from Holland on the ACL vessel Atlantic Concert, and made the onward journey on the Ship Canal to Runcorn by barge.
“This is the latest development in our objective to increase usage of the Ship Canal as a logistics hub that drives down cost and CO2 emissions,” said Stephen Carr, Peel Ports Mersey’s head of business development for the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal.
Each journey equates to a saving of 180kgs of CO2 emissions, creating the potential to save an additional 2,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum.
“The sheer size of this cargo made the use of road transport problematic, and the use of Peel’s barge service was the perfect solution,” said Andrew Wormald, senior sales and operations manager at Abnormal Load Services Ltd, Peel Ports’ customer on this project.
“It also saved us on costs and carbon emissions for this leg of the journey from Holland.”
The journey from Liverpool to Runcorn took just over three hours.

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