Port of Liverpool

The Port of Liverpool is the enclosed 7.5-mile (12.1 km) dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river. In 2023, the Port of Liverpool was the UK’s fourth busiest container port, handling around 900,000 TEUs of cargo each year, equivalent to over 30 million tonnes of freight per annum. It handles a wide variety of cargo, including containers, bulk cargoes such as coal, grain and animal feed, and roll-on/roll-off cargoes such as cars, trucks and recycled metals. The port is also home to one of the largest cruise terminals in the UK which handles approximately 200,000 passengers and over 100 cruise ships each year. The port has significant links to North America and the rest of Europe via the Irish Sea and Atlantic Ocean. It is the most significant port in the UK for transatlantic trade. The port's history spans over 800 years and at its peak in the 19th century, it was the second most important port in the British Empire. In 2016, the port was extended by the building of an in-river container terminal at Seaforth Dock, named Liverpool2. The terminal can berth two 14,000 container Post-Panamax ships. Garston Docks, which are in the city of Liverpool, are not a part of the Port of Liverpool. The working docks are operated by Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, while the docks to the south of the Pier Head are operated by the Canal & River Trust, the successor to former operator British Waterways.