LIKE giants emerging out of the mist, five Mersey mammoths glided into Liverpool today on a slow boat from China in what was described as a truly unique day for Liverpool.
The sight of the super vessel Zhen Hua 23, and its equally super cargo, was enough to turn the heads of afternoon dog walkers and fishermen. But not those of 100 of Antony Gormley's iron men who stood stoically on Waterloo beach as a structure taller and far wider than the Liver Buildings loomed into view, completing an 18,000-mile journey that started in August in Liverpool’s twin city of Shanghai.
The cranes, the first of eight to arrive, are a key part of the biggest ever investment in Liverpool's new deep water port, dubbed Liverpool2. Costing more than £300m, they will enable the Port of Liverpool to allow the world’s biggest container ships to load and unload in the Mersey.
The three-month voyage has passed through south-east Asia, India, the Arabian Peninsula and Africa via the Cape of Good Hope en route to Liverpool.
The super-structures were produced by Chinese company Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co (ZPMC), the largest heavy duty equipment manufacturer in the world, as part of a contract with Peel Ports worth over £100 million. A total of eight ship-to-shore megamax cranes and 22 cantilever rail-mounted gantry cranes are being supplied as part of Peel’s investment programme to expand and develop the existing Port of Liverpool to enable it to accommodate the world’s largest container ships.
Each crane measures 92 metres high to the top of the frame, approximately the same as Liverpool’s most famous building, the Royal Liver building, rising to 132 metres high when the boom is raised. Each crane weighs around 1,600 tonnes.
The cranes, the same height as the Liver Buildings. dwarf the formidable radar tower at Seaforth
23 enigma: The Zhen Hua 23 and a ballast to engulf an iron man at high tide on Waterloo beach
A spokesman for Peel said today: “Liverpool2 is the UK’s largest transatlantic deep-sea port and container terminal and the investment in facilities will allow it to accommodate the majority of the world’s current container fleet, including vessels up to 20,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) or two 13,500 TEU vessels simultaneously.”
Mark Whitworth, chief executive of Peel Ports, said: “This is a truly unique day in Liverpool’s long maritime history. The spectacular sight of these cranes sailing up the Mersey to the L2 site is unprecedented."
For those who like the detail, the cranes will have the ability to operate at speeds in excess of 30 moves per hour and will facilitate an anticipated 1,500 moves in each tidal window. They will be capable of twin-pick and outreach of 24 containers up to 10 high on deck, and safe working loads of up to 85 tonnes. They will also have the ability to operate in wind speeds of up to 88km/h.
Pictures with grateful thanks to photographer Dave Graham.
