Increase of shipping MSC ?

[Dizzy]

Is it just me or are there more ships going down the Manchester Ship Canal these days?   Is there anywhere I can look to see exactly how many ships are going down each day etc ?

 

Another one has just gone past so that's 3 now in the past 3 hours alone. (it's now 9.25pm) 

 

We've been noticing for a few months now that more are passing and they also seem to be going down much later at night as well as during the day.

 

Maybe we are just noticing them more as the bigger ones (Coastal Deniz in particular) make the floor and windows vibrate.

 

We've been getting stuck more in the mornings and at tea time with the bridges being off too. 

 

Coastal Deniz went past about an hour ago and because I know that one's name and loud sound as it passes so often I looked it up and found it on a ship AIS? website site which showed it passing ours. 

 

Its a cargo ship (obviously as it's always full of containers).  The details for tonight's passing showed it as Cargo... TYPE CARGO HAZ A (71).... anyone any idea what that means ?   

[Coffee]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-22796207

 

I am guessing Haz means hazardous

 

A indicates the hazard classification

 

71 I i think the packaging regulations

[Dizzy]

Thanks Coffee

 

I just googled again and think you are right about HAZ being Hazardous.  I wonder what it carries as Deniz (owned by Peel Ports apparently) passes ours most days.  Does it carry the same classification stuff all the time  

 

71 seems to mean something like  'reserved' and a 'major hazzard'  if I've understood it correctly.  Knowing me I haven't though and it's probably just full of ugg boots and hoodies travelling back and too between Liverpool and Manchester

 

Where's Asperity when I need him.

[observer]

Look out of your window, he's waving at you !

[algy]

The IMO MARPOL (Marine Polutant)Hazard categories have been changed from A, B, C & D to X, Y, Z & OS.
IMO MARPOL Hazard A:

Quote;     Noxious liquid substances which if discharged into the sea from tank cleaning or deballasting operations would present a major hazard to either marine resources or human health or cause serious harm to amenities or other legitimate uses of the sea and therefore justify the application of stringent anti-pollution measures. Examples are acetone cyanohydrin, carbon disulphide, cresols, naphthalene and tetraethyl lead.

 

I couldn't find anything relating to the numbers (71).

 

Probably better to await Asp's superior knowledge of the subject.

 

Coastal Deniz

MV Coastal Deniz, can carry 260 containers – 60% more than the MV Monica. It runs between Liverpool’s Seaforth Container Terminal, Ellesmere Port and Irlam Container Terminal in Salford.

Stephen Carr, Peel Ports Mersey business development head, said: “Deniz will move 20,000 containers in 2013.

 

[Evil Sid]

surprising the number of ships that do go up and down the canal. I know that some years back I heard a figure mentioned of 500 per year. which is about nine or ten per week. However how many of them go as far as Manchester was not mentioned. ships ais does show that there are several dredgers wandering up and down the canal as far as woolston and maybe beyond. That suggests that there will be an increase in traffic up to Manchester which was what port Warrington was all about. Large container ships unloading at runcorn and transferring to smaller ships to carry on up to irlam.

[middlec]

There is a definite increase in shipping on the MSC. Very noticeable. The container port at Liverpool is well underway, and the MP for this side of the canal (Mowat) has sent a letter to most folk quoting his speech in the Commons, along with his meeting with Peel Holdings about the increase in traffic and it's affect on the area. Apparently billions of pounds is to be invested by Peel in the next six years or so to carry more and more container traffic on the canal. Can't blame them for that, as it's what the canal was built for. They don't appear to be that interested in the disruption to traffic with the bridges going off more and more, and, well, why should they? The roads and traffic is not their problem is it? Warrington and other areas affected by the canal should be making plans of how they are to cope. There was a high level bridge planned many years ago (1980's) but was never progressed, probably because the council thought the canal was "dead" How wrong!

 

Here is Monica (I photographed it from the canal near Irlam)

It's just one of the many container boats acquired by Peel Holdings.

The new on-board crane is to load/unload containers.

[algy]

Here is Monica (I photographed from the canal at Irlam)

It's just one of the many container boats acquired by Peel Holdings.

That's a new crane (behind) that was shipped in and erected to load/unload containers.

Good post middlec but unless I'm missing something, the object you describe as a new crane is in fact the fore mast of the 'Monica' that has been lowered.

[middlec]

Thanks Algy. Well spotted.

It happened because I had read on some website that "a new portable crane had been installed by Peel Holdings to aid unloading and loading of containers" and I should have looked more closely to realise this isn't it, it's the mast. Oh well, back to Specsavers!

[Coffee]

I wonder why ships have got their steering wheel either near the back or middle, if they had it at the front they would not have to be so high up and maybe fit under bridges.

 

How is it latchford has a high level bridge, when was it built?

[middlec]

The high level Cantilever bridge at Latchford was made when the canal was built in the 1890's. I have no idea why it was the only one built of that height on this stretch of the canal (others in the vicinity are swing bridges)  I'm sure others more knowledgeable than me will be able to answer that for you. The new "flyover" bridge that was dreamt up in the late1960's/70's/80's was to have been built in a similar position to the Cantilever, you can see where the houses at the end of Fairfield Road were demolished in preparation for it. The ground where those houses stood has never been built on, even after all these years, so it leaves a question as to whether there are still plans somewhere waiting for the dust to be blown off them for another look at. It's a little late for that I fear.  

[Coffee]

The Cantilever bridge at Latchford was made when the canal was built in the 1890's. The new "flyover" bridge that was dreamt up in the 1970's/80's was to have been built in a similar position to the Cantilever, you can see where the houses at the end of Fairfield Road were demolished in preparation for it. The ground where the houses stood has never been built on, even after all these years, so it leaves a question as to whether there are still plans somewhere waiting for the dust to be blown off them for another look at. It's a little late for that I fear.  

 

interesting, wonder what the purpose of it was and why two bridges were needed so close.

 

also why did they not build fixed bridges over the canal like Cantilever instead of opting for the complexity of a swinging bridges

 

and why is the bridge called the Cantilever?

[Davy51]

 I think the cantilever is limited to 5 tons weight limit so heavy vehicle would still need sturdier bridges.

[middlec]

Sorry Coffee, I had edited my post slightly as you were obviously replying to it. But it still roughly remains the same. I cannot answer your questions, but the historians on here will undoubtedly be able to find all the answers.

But here is a photo from the Cantilever bridge showing where the houses at the end of Fairfield Road were demolished for a new bridge that never happened!

[Freeborn John]

I understand that there is soon to be a large freight facility on the MSC at Barton, it will be called Port Salford and if it's as busy as they plan it to be then Warringtons drivers had better get used to being stopped by canal traffic.

I'm surprised how little media attention the scheme has attracted, most odd...

[middlec]

I couldn't agree more, Freeborn John. So little publicity is being given to this, and it is such a major issue. Peel Holdings were repairing the old temporary moorings between Moore and Wigg Island (I know it doesn't look that good, but apparently they were using reclaimed seasoned timber. To me it looks like the original timber from when the canal was built!) This was supposedly to allow these big new container barges to tie up here so they could go through the bridges in convoy, to avoid too much frequent disruption. That sounds o.k., but it would still result in the bridges being off, although for a less number of times, but for a longer duration. Unlike the heyday of the canal, up until the early 1960's, we are no longer used to canal traffic and the bridges being off , are we?

[Bazj]

wonder if we will get any councillors commenting on this one???

[wolfie]

I wonder why ships have got their steering wheel either near the back or middle, if they had it at the front they would not have to be so high up and maybe fit under bridges.

   

[inky pete]

If they used tugs and barges they could fit under the swing bridges with no problems at all. Plus the tug could simply drop one barge off at it's desination and pick up another for the return journey without waiting around for loading/unloading.

[algy]

Coffee,

Latchford High Level Bridge was built in the 1890’s and spans the Manchester Ship canal 75ft above water level over a distance of about 206ft. The bridge consists of 783 tons of steelwork The cantilever bridge was built at the say so of a major shareholder of the ship canal company a Mr Joseph Parr, so that he could drive his horse & carriage without delay straight through from his home at Grappenhall Heys in to Warrington to his bank in Horsemarket Street.

 

A cantilever bridge is basically to horizontal beams built out from each side of a canal or cutting and meeting in the middle the weight of the horizontal beams are supported by to vertical steel towers anchored by rods into their concrete bases , the weight of a load travelling across the horizontal beam is transmitted under increasing  tension as the load reaches the centre of the span and transmitting the load weight from one tower to the opposing tower as it moves across the bridge span.

 

Building the Latchford High Level Bridge.

 

 

[Coffee]

   

 

I remember now, the bit they steer the ship from is called a bridge,

 

, so if the bridge was lower they would not have to swing the bridge for the bridge to go through the bridge

[Coffee]

If they used tugs and barges they could fit under the swing bridges with no problems at all. Plus the tug could simply drop one barge off at it's desination and pick up another for the return journey without waiting around for loading/unloading.

 

would a tug and barge fit through the locks. Seen tugs pulling three or four barges down the Themes.

 

 

Latchford High Level Bridge was built in the 1890’s and spans the Manchester Ship canal 75ft above water level over a distance of about 206ft. The bridge consists of 783 tons of steelwork The cantilever bridge was built at the say so of a major shareholder of the ship canal company a Mr Joseph Parr, so that he could drive his horse & carriage without delay straight through from his home at Grappenhall Heys in to Warrington to his bank in Horsemarket Street

 

Amazing, a bridge for one guy, thanks for the info.

[wolfie]

I remember now, the bit they steer the ship from is called a bridge,

 

, so if the bridge was lower they would not have to swing the bridge for the bridge to go through the bridge

Or under

[Peter T]

I remember now, the bit they steer the ship from is called a bridge,

 

, so if the bridge was lower they would not have to swing the bridge for the bridge to go through the bridge

 

As MacEnroe said, "you can't be serious?"  Even the tugs have to lower their mast/radar. and the big liners have to lower theirs to get under the High level bridges.

[Freeborn John]

wonder if we will get any councillors commenting on this one???

They've been quite vocal about car parks lately, you'd think they would have something to say about a development which could turn large parts of the towns road system into one...