Shipyard set to build £100m dock for super containers

SHIPYARD Cammell Laird is set to plough £100m into a huge new dry dock to accommodate the world’s biggest container ships and creating hundreds of jobs.

The Birkenhead company is making preparations for if the Port of Liverpool is successful in attracting post-Panamax vessels to its quayside at Liverpool2 at Seaforth, due to open soon.

Cammell Laird already has the biggest dry dock on the UK’s west coast, but it still not big enough to hand the massive ships which could soon be on their way to Liverpool.

The new dry dock would be 400-metres long and 60-metres wide. It would enable the shipyard to carry out repairs and maintenance work on vessels that can transport up to 20,000 containers at a time.

Cammell Laird chief executive John Syvret said: “We are on the doorstep of a very busy port. Arguably, the more vessels that visit the port the more we can potentially benefit from it.
 
“One of the things I am looking at is the business case for constructing and building a new dock that can potentially take the largest vessels in the world.

“It’s a massive investment. You’re talking £100m plus.

“But if we are now to have the largest ships visiting the port on Merseyside, we need to ask, should we have a dry dock capable of accepting the largest container ships in the world?

“We are looking at it right now.

“It would take probably three years to design and get planning permission and approvals from the Environment Agency.

“It would be two to three years, even if we had a business case that made sense today.

“The number of visiting vessels committing to the port long-term would be a critical factor.”

Liverpool2 was due to open in late 2015. Port of Liverpool owner Peel Ports has yet to give an official opening date, but it is understood the new in-river facility will be completed and open for business before the end of March.