Liverpool Echo: Sinkhole opens up at newest U.K. container terminal

A large sinkhole has appeared at Peel Ports’ £400 million (U.S. $494.9 million) Liverpool2 container terminal, which officially opened for business in November 2016, according to a report from the Liverpool Echo newspaper.    A large sinkhole has opened up at the newest container terminal in the United Kingdom, according to a report from the Liverpool Echo newspaper.
   The £400 million (U.S. $495 million) Liverpool2 container terminal, which is owned and operated by the Peel Ports Group, officially opened for business in November 2016 after several months of costly delays.
   A spokesperson from Peel Ports reportedly told the newspaper the company has been “aware of a potential issue in the area for a few weeks. This has resulted in the appearance of a cavity on the berth of Liverpool2.
   “We have taken immediate action to ensure the safety of all port staff and visitors and have opened an investigation into the cause of the issue, which we are looking to resolve as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said. “The terminal remains open although the access to the area affected is restricted. The crane commissioning is continuing as planned.”
   The opening of a sinkhole within the facility could be another bad omen for the Liverpool2 terminal, which ran well over its expected £300 million budget and has yet to attract any liner shipping services since its opening in November.
   During development, Peel Ports argued the Port of Liverpool would attract more cargo business once the terminal was complete thanks to its central location in the U.K. The logic was that being closer to consumers, shippers would be able to save money on inland trucking and rail services. Liverpool2 is connected to road, rail, and the national import center at Port Salford via the Manchester Ship Canal.
   The port, however, has thus far been unable to convince shippers and carriers alike that this is enough of a reason to divert containerships considerably off route from other Northern European destination ports, which may prove difficult in an industry that isn’t exactly quick to change course.
   The terminal operator is currently in “advanced talks” with carriers about launching services to and from Liverpool2, according to the Peel Ports spokesperson.