Trading Places - a history of Liverpool Docks
The heyday of Liverpool docks has passed yet the port deals with more goods than ever before. How is this possible? Because containers
make transporting goods by sea faster, cheaper and easier. Learn about containers and how they work below.
Docks involved
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What Are Containers?
Containers are:
- Rectangular
They come in different sizes but the most common are 20 and 40 feet long, 8 feet wide and 8 feet high (a
foot is about 30 cm). They are measured in TEUs -
twenty-foot equivalent units. It is the standard measurement of containers.
- Strong
They are made from steel or aluminium and sometimes also fibreglass and plywood. They have to withstand
stacking, the movement of a ship at sea, and sometimes rough handling in port. They have a life of about
8-20 years. Like ships containers are tested and certified by Lloyds.
- Waterproof
Containers are often carried on deck at sea. Therefore they have to be waterproof and resistant to rotting
by salt water.
- Easily moved
The goods in the container may be an odd shape, but in containers they are easy to handle. Containers are
the same all over the world. Therefore they are quickly secured to or released from any crane, carrier,
lorry, railway wagon or ship designed to carry them.
- Easy to stuff and destuff
Goods can be easily packed and unpacked.
- Before containers were introduced every piece of cargo at Liverpool docks had to be manhandled piece by
piece. Apart from bulk cargoes such as grain or coal, almost all goods, both liquid and dry, (even petrol
or pottery) were carried in boxes, barrels or sacks. They were taken to the dock, individually unloaded
from the lorry or railway wagon and then hoisted onto the ship. This took time and labour.
- Ships spent a long time in port, often needing 10 days to load and unload.
- After 1900 larger cargo vessels and specialisation (dealing in a particular cargo) led to cheaper
handling and economies of scale (the more you carry the cheaper it becomes per piece).
- By the late 1950s container ships were developing. Each container vessel took the work of about six
traditional cargo liners. They carried about 226 TEUs.
- Today vessels can carry 6600 TEUs.
Advantage of Containers
- Quick to load and unload
A modern container ship can unload and load in around 12 hours and often be away from port on the next tide.
Before containers a ship may have been in dock for several days.
- Door to Door
Goods can be loaded into the container and not unloaded again until the end of the journey. This means that
goods are less likely to be lost or damaged.
- Quick to deliver
Once the containers have been unloaded from the ship they can be collected by rail or lorry and delivered
quickly. Also, less time is spent filling in paperwork.
- Safety
Containers are secure so there is less theft and damage (including water damage). This reduces insurance
costs for the shipper.
- Cheap
Containers have low packing and transporting costs. Fewer stevedores (dock workers) are needed to move them.
- Fewer stops
Container ships usually make fewer stops than general cargo ships so the ship owner pays less port/docks taxes.
Container Docks
Container docks, including the Royal Seaforth Dock, need the following:
- Fast road and rail links
Seaforth is close to several motorways and has rail links to Europe via the Channel Tunnel.
- Modern terminals
Seaforth opened in 1972 and its equipment is fairly new, e.g. gantry cranes, forklifts, straddle carriers,
container gears, sackers, trucks, trailers, tractors, etc.
- Inland Container Depots (Acids)
Distribution points where non-containerised goods are stuffed into boxes. They are also used to unpack
containers with cargoes that need to be sent to different places. Good communications via road and rail
are important.
Types of Containers
Containers can be classified by the cargo they carry. There are:
- General Purpose Cargo Containers - these are the most common. They are used for cargoes not needing
specialist containers. They are also called Dry Cargo Containers. They are normally made of steel and
have two full height rear doors. The floor is covered with timber planks or plywood sheets. Cargo is
roped down to hooks along the sides at floor level.
- Thermal Containers - for cargo needing cold storage. They are lined with insulating material such as
polystyrene foam. Thermal containers are further classified into three types:
- Refrigerated (or Reefer) Containers - for carrying frozen food.
- Insulated Containers - for vegetables and fruit and other cargoes that require protection from
temperature changes but not refrigeration. Tins have to be carried in insulted containers in winter
because if they froze they could burst.
- Ventilated Containers - for cargo such as tea, coffee or cocoa, which require air to prevent
rotting.
Transatlantic container vessels in particular are very busy, although there are regular services elsewhere in the
world as well as coastwise. Container lorries are carried by regular ferry services to both Ireland and the Isle of Man.
Containerisation began in Liverpool in 1968. Before Royal Seaforth Dock had been completed, Gladstone Graving Dock
acted as a temporary container terminal.
The main centre is now the Royal Seaforth Dock.
Containerisation changed dockside work forever. Now Merseyside deals with larger ships and more cargo but uses a
fraction of the labour. This has hit the local workforce hard but has made moving cargo more economical.
Around 524,000 TEUs are moved through the port per year (based on 2001 figures). Mediterranean cargo in particular
is on the increase.
Millions are being spent on redeveloping the Royal Seaforth Container Terminal. Much of the original infrastructure
and equipment is being replaced with state-of-the-art facilities. A total of 80,000 sq m (860,000 sq ft) of new
warehousing (including rail-connected sites) and light industrial units are being built.
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The Royal Seaforth Dock is a purpose-built container terminal with the following features:
- lots of flat floor space for stacking containers
- direct access to road, rail and sea
- secure warehousing for storing goods
- a large entrance and dock for large ships
- special cranes for moving containers
Even the very largest ships can be in and out of the dock in around twelve hours. They travel on regular routes to:
- North America (Seaforth is the gateway to Europe for many American companies).
- Europe (new express services run to the Mediterranean, Northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsular).
- Africa.
- South America.
A large part of the Seaforth estate is a Freeport. This allows shippers to store goods in warehouses 'duty-free'.
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Gladstone Graving Dock was a temporary container terminal from 1968 to 1972 (when the Royal Seaforth Dock opened). The dock
was huge and had lots of land around it, making it ideal for storing containers. Gladstone is still part of Liverpool Freeport.
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From the mid-20th century cargo liners such as the Harrison Line used Canada Dock. The dock also handled
containers using general-purpose cranes.
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