30.09.2009
London's business leaders have reiterated their support for the Crossrail project on the day Crossrail announces that more than five million tonnes of material excavated from the project will be transported by boat along the Thames for use in landscaping projects. These include a new 1,500 acre nature reserve at Wallasea Island in Essex.
Today Crossrail signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Port of London Authority (PLA) to confirm its commitment to use barges and ships along the Thames to move its excavated materials. If the equivalent five million tonnes were to be transported by road they would require up to half a million lorry journeys.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:
"Moving five million tonnes of earth excavated from the centre of London requires a solution of Herculean proportions. Using the barges rather than the roads is a supremely brilliant plan and it brings joy to my heart to see them make their way up and down the Thames.
"Using barges avoids the need for a huge number of lorries to grind their way through the city. It also brings together two of our key priorities - making better use of the river and keeping digging for Crossrail.
"Crossrail will add at least £20 billion to the economy and employ some 14,000 people. It is crucial to London's economic prosperity and I'm absolutely delighted to see work steaming ahead."
During the delivery of Crossrail, Europe's largest construction project, a total of 7.3 million m³ of material will be excavated, which is the equivalent of covering the whole of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens with a three metre layer of soil. Close to 100% of the 7.3 million m³ of excavated material is expected to be clean and uncontaminated and can be reused elsewhere. The project will maximise the use of water and rail for the transport of excavated material, and project managers estimate that on a tonne per kilometre basis, 85 per cent of transport of the material will be by rail and water only.

Commenting on the proposals Transport Minister, Rt Hon Sadiq Khan MP said:
"This is a welcome announcement, which underlines the green credentials the Government is keen to see applied to this huge project, while reducing disruption to London's busy streets.
"We are building a new railway line that will benefit millions of people, both directly and indirectly. By using excavated material to redevelop Wallasea Island and aid regeneration in Kent we are also creating a legacy which will benefit areas far beyond the route for generations to come."

Crossrail Chief Executive, Rob Holden said:
"All construction projects by their nature will result in some degree of disruption but it is critically important that the impact on central London is kept to a minimum while Crossrail's construction is underway.
The final destinations for the excavated material in Essex and Kent have been specifically chosen to ensure that the vast majority is transported by either rail or river thereby limiting the impact on the road network.
"That's why we've signed up to work with the PLA to help us make the most of the river for the project. Using the river is fundamental for us. You can move much more material on the river in one barge compared to a single lorry; doing so also takes much less energy and generates far fewer environmental emissions."
Port of London Authority Chief Executive, Richard Everitt said:
"The Thames is London's greenest highway. It's already the busiest waterway in the country. We've been working alongside the Crossrail team to help them make the most of the river to help keep the impact of the construction of the rail links to a minimum. Our role is to help turn their vision into reality, linking their construction operations with sites on the river for handling materials. Today we're talking about moving materials out of the capital. Just as important is using the river to get the vital building materials to site and that's something we're already working on."

Transportation of excavated material
Excavated material from tunnelling will generally be removed by rail and water while construction material from stations and station related work such as permanent access and ventilation shafts will generally be initially removed by road and then transferred to the river. Crossrail is working with the Port of London Authority and British Waterways to promote and maximise the use of water transport for delivery of construction materials and the removal of construction material and waste, and with the rail industry to ensure a joined-up approach to the use of rail for transportation of materials.
Excavated materials from eastern tunnelling sites will go direct by river to Wallasea Island in Essex and to two regeneration sites in Kent. Material from the western tunnelling site at Royal Oak near Paddington will go by rail to the sites in Kent while some material will go by river to Wallasea Island. The Grand Union Canal is located in close proximity to the Royal Oak tunnelling site and Crossrail is considering what potential role it can play with the transfer of excavated material and the delivery of construction materials.

Wallasea Island
At least two-thirds of all Crossrail excavated material, or 4 million m³, will be used to create a huge wildlife reserve in Essex. Clay, chalk, sand and gravel taken from the construction of Crossrail will be transferred by ship to Wallasea Island, eight miles north of Southend-on-Sea, which the RSPB will transform into 1,500 acres - nearly 2.5 square miles - of tidal wildlife habitat.
Last year the RSPB submitted a planning application to Essex County Council and consent was issued on 9 July. Development of Wallasea Island is expected to start in 2010.

Canary Wharf
Construction started on the Canary Wharf Station in the North Dock at Canary Wharf on 15 May 2009. The work requires approximately 150,000 m³ of materials to be excavated, which equates to approximately 300,000 tonnes. Not all of this will be transported - the preference is to test and re-use as much excavated material as possible on-site. The aim is to reuse around a third of the excavated soil.
Material that does have to be transported will predominantly be taken via river-borne barges, removing an estimated 20,000 lorry loads from East London and Essex roads. Much of this material will transported downstream to the Veolia Environmental Services Pitsea landfill site at Holehaven Creek. The first barge arrived at Pitsea on 23 July.
This material will help to transform the Pitsea site from landfill to high quality land for public access, without disturbing the nearby tidal mudflat, which is a 'site of special scientific interest'.
Canary Wharf Contractors has a long history of using water to transport construction materials. This helps it to alleviate impacts on the local community and environment and reduce costs and construction time.
Barges in use at the Canary Wharf site
• There are eight barges in use. There are normally 3/4 onsite at any one time.
• The largest a 350 tonne capacity. The smallest is a 120 tonne barge
• The large barges are approximately 25m x 6m wide and the smaller ones are 15m x 2m nes.

www.pla.co.uk

www.rspb.org.uk/wallasea

Crossrail press-release

Three Mills Lock ready for Olympic Traffic
Three Mills Lock in Prescott Channel, Bromley-by-Bow, was officially opened on the 5th June and is the first new lock to be built in London since the one into Limehouse Basin over 20 years ago.
The Olympic Delivery Authority is keen to make the 2012 Olympics the ‘greenest’ so far and it is anticipated that a significant proportion of construction material will be delivered by barges using the new lock.
London Mayor Boris Johnson heralded the opening of the lock as ‘the start of a new age of water transport in the capital’.
The project was begun in March 2007 and comprises twin water control gates, a 62m x 8m tidal lock, lock control building, fish pass, fixed weir and a footbridge. It was made possible by successful collaboration between a range of funders including British Waterways and the ODA.
To mark the occasion a tug and barge passed through the lock and these were followed by a small flotilla from the St. Pancras Cruising Club.
Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, had been expected to perform the ceremony, but was called to attend a meeting with the Prime Minister at the last moment. ODA chairman John Armitt took his place.

Revitalising London’s Olympic Waterways
The Bow Back Rivers are a fascinating network of post-industrial waterways that have been derelict and underused since the Second World War. Today they form part of the 2012 Olympic Park and after decades of neglect the newly navigable Bow Back Rivers will bring immediate benefits to the area through lorry miles saved within the Olympic Park. Beyond the Olympics, the restored waterways could be used to carry waste and recyclates from new homes established in the area, as well as delivering construction materials for the re-development of Stratford City. There will be additional advantages, with the creation of new opportunities for leisure boating, water taxis, floating restaurants and trip boats as well as the potential for further freight movements and the removal of waste by water.

Facts & Figures
Prescott Lock
• Cost £18.9million. Contractor Volker Stevin
• Funding partnership between the Olympic Delivery Authority, London Thames Gateway Development Corporation, Transport for London , Department for Transport and British Waterways
• Creates access for large (350t) barges from the Thames four to six hours a day
• Has a 62m x 8m chamber with two pairs of hydraulic 'sector' gates
Restored Olympic Waterways
• Bow Back Rivers will be navigable 24-hours a day north of Three Mills
• The navigable dimensions will be 2.4m deep with 3m headroom
• Could transport up to 12,000 tonnes of construction materials each week (34 loaded barges)
• Could take up to 1,200 lorry journeys off congested local roads each week
• Each 350-tonne barge can carry the same as 17 lorries, saving up to 34 lorry journeys each Less than a third of the amount of fuel is needed to move materials by water than by road, releasing less than a sixth of the pollution
• The waterways of the Lower Lea Valley carried 2million tonnes of materials a year in their heyday around 1900
Benefits During & After Olympics
• up to 1.75 million tonnes bulk construction materials moved by barge
• up to 170,000 lorry journeys saved
• up to 4,000 tonnes of CO 2 saved
• up to 175,000 tonnes moved by barge each year after 2012 through legacy development and potential waste transfer
• up to 17,500 lorry journeys saved each year after 2012
• 440 tonnes of CO 2 saved each year after 2012

 

PRESS RELEASE: 6 May 2009 ~ To download study, click here

CBOA WELCOMES RIVER TRENT FREIGHT SURVEY RESULT AND URGES ACTION ON RECOMMENDATIONS

• 1 MILLION TONNES OF POTENTIAL CARGO ALREADY IDENTIFIED
  
• CALL TO CONSIDER ENLARGING THE RIVER TO NOTTINGHAM
  
• NEED FOR WATER FREIGHT PROMOTION OFFICER
  
• WHARVES NEED SAFEGUARDING FROM HOUSING
  
• OPPORTUNITIES IN WASTE AND OTHER TRAFFICS

The Commercial Boat Operators Association (CBOA) today welcomed the publication of the Peter Brett Associates’ (PBA) report commissioned by the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA), East Midlands Regional Assembly (EMRA) and British Waterways (BW) into Current and Future Prospects of Freight Moving on the River Trent.

CBOA is pleased that:

• Up to 1 million tonnes of cargo has already been identified that could move by barge
  
• PBA suggest enlarging the locks between Newark and Nottingham to be considered to enable 61m by 6m barges (carrying 600 tonnes) to reach Nottingham and suggest dealing with the notorious bottleneck at Newark Nether Lock
  
• PBA recommend for the next steps to be
  
• The appointment of a full time water freight promotion officer
  
  • A special focus on trial waste and recyclate movements from Colwick, near Nottingham
    
  • a promotional leaflet to spell out to industry the advantages of using barges
    
  • a workshop for planners and industry on securing growth in freight movements
    
• PBA emphasise the need for an immediate focus on waste strategies to identify where waterside waste facilities can be installed
  
• PBA recommend strengthening planning policy so the authorities
  
  • safeguard wharves for cargo-handling and prevent their being lost to housing (The consultants have produced a list of such wharves)
    o promote the transport of freight by water and encourage innovative measures to make water freight more sustainable
    
  • ensure that new developments close to the River should maximise using water freight (especially during the construction phase)

CBOA urges EMDA, EMRA and BW along with other members of the steering group to devise an action plan for success to take forward PBA’s recommendations. John Dodwell, CBOA’s Chairman said:

“It is well known that water freight is the most “green” form of transport. We welcome PBA’s suggested next steps and congratulate EMDA, EMRA and BW in taking the initiative in getting this report written. We were members of the steering group covering PBA’s report and look forward to working in partnership with EMDA, EMRA, BW and the other steering group members in developing how the citizens of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire can benefit from less heavy lorries on their crowded roads”

John Dodwell went on:

“There are some parts of the PBA report that need further investigation than was possible within the confines of the brief given to PBA. I have in mind the approach to the Newark By pass idea. This would mean canalising the old River to the west of Newark and so avoid the restrictions on barge size caused by Newark Bridge. PBA give a very wide range of estimates, apparently based on costs connected with a lock being built in East London for the Olympics. I am not convinced this is a valid comparison – nor that there have to be two locks for a 14ft difference in water levels”

ENDS
Further information and pictures, contact:
CBOA: John Dodwell, Chairman, 020-7231-6247 or 07802-961485.
Email j.dodwell@cboa.org.uk and www.cboa.org.uk

Notes for editors:
CBOA is the trade association for companies which carry freight on the UK’s inland and estuarial waterways. CBOA members collectively offer a one-stop service to advise companies on what can be done to take freight off the roads and on to water to capture economic and environmental benefits.

PRESS RELEASE ~ 29 April 2009

CBOA AWARD FOR LOCAL SUCCESS WOOD, HALL & HEWARD’s CONSTRUCTION FOCUSSED BROCHURE

The Commercial Boat Operators Association (CBOA) has given its highest Member’s award, the Award of Excellence, to Wood, Hall & Heward. The citation commends the contemporary design of their promotional brochure highlighting the new age of the waterways and showing the benefits that construction site managers can gain through using barges.

Based at Harefield, Middlesex, the company are water transport specialists. They were established relatively recently in 1997 and now operate more than 40 craft on rivers and canals in London and the south east. This enables them to take up to 80 tonnes in a single barge- the equivalent of four rigid lorries.

Their main areas of activity include delivery of construction materials, transport of aggregates, waste and recyclates, the delivery of abnormal loads to site by barge, and infrastructure maintenance.

The presentation to Wood, Hall & Heward is to be made on 29 April 2009 at a Shippers Voice supply chain insight seminar at Multimodal, the transport and logistics exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, by CBOA chairman John Dodwell. He says:

“In the comparatively short time they have been operating, Wood Hall & Heward have clearly demonstrated that working the waterways is very much an activity of the present - and future – not just the past CBOA welcomes their production of a contemporary brochure focussed on how construction site managers can benefit from using barges”

He adds they have seized the opportunity to show the benefits of using the waterways rather than roads, especially in congested urban areas. A major recent contract was the delivery to the new Kings Place cultural centre at Kings Cross, London of thousands of tonnes of steel beams and granite faced cladding panels

Wood, Hall & Heward are now carrying out trials for Crossrail in moving excavated earth out of London

It’s the first time the CBOA has made Awards of Excellence. This first year there were two, the other going to Exol Lubricants subsidiary Green Line Oils. The West Midlands-based company won the award for its ‘vision, commitment and good business sense’ in using waterways as the vital link to transport base oil from the port of Hull to their blending plant at Rotherham.

ENDS
Further information, contact
CBOA: John Dodwell, Chairman, 020-7231-6247 or 07802-961485. Email j.dodwell@cboa.org.uk. www.cboa.org.uk
Wood, Hall & Heward: Gerry Heward, 07951-026174. Email gerald.heward@whhbarges.co.uk www.whhbarges.co.uk
Multimodal: Emma Murray, 07711 614 655, email emma@meantimecomms.com www.multimodal.org.uk

Note for editors:
CBOA is the trade association for companies which carry freight on the UK’s inland and estuarial waterways. CBOA members offer a one-stop service to advise companies on what can be done to take freight off the roads and on to water to capture both economic and environmental benefits.

PRESS RELEASE ~ 29 April 2009

CBOA AWARD FOR LOCAL SUCCESS GREEN LINE OILS
‘VISION - AND GOOD BUSINESS SENSE’

The Commercial Boat Operators Association (CBOA) has given its highest award, the Award of Excellence for 2009, to Green Line Oils. The citation recognises the company’s ‘vision, commitment and good business sense’ in using waterways as the vital link to transport base oil from the port of Hull to their blending plant at Rotherham, Yorkshire.

Green Line Oils is a subsidiary of Exol Lubricants, the Wednesbury, West Midlands-based company. Exol Lubricants is the UK’s largest independent lubricants company.

Green Line Oils began taking 17,000 tons per year by barge. This has now risen to 35,000 tons a year. At present they move on average about 700 tons a week, unloading a barge every 3-4 days. Each barge takes as much as 500 tonnes, replacing 20 road tankers.

Green Line Oils engaged Hull-based motor barge tanker company John H Whitaker (Tankers) Ltd to transport the oil from Hull to Rotherham on the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.

The presentation of the Award is to be made to Steve Everitt, Managing Director of Exol Lubricants, on 29 April 2009 at a Shippers Voice supply chain insight seminar at Multimodal, the transport and logistics exhibition at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, by CBOA chairman John Dodwell. He says:

“Green Line Oils is currently taking the equivalent of 2,800 return lorry journeys off the road each year. And, as they themselves say, they have reduced their costs by using waterways in place of roads We hope that other movers of bulk liquids will follow the Green Line Oils’ example.”

He added that using barges was a “much more efficient” use of labour than usingroadtankers.A crew of three was needed for each 15 hour barge tanker journey; the samethree men driving road tankers would need seven trips each to complete the delivery and this could not be done in the same time.

A Freight Facility Grant (FFG) from the Department for Transport contributed to the cost ofinstalling the storage tanks at Rotherham. As the tonnage increased and more storage tanks were needed at Rotherham, a second FFG was obtained. These FFGs are made in recognition of the environmental benefits of taking traffic off the roads.

It’s the first time the CBOA has made Award of Excellence. This first year there were two, the other going to the Harefield, Middlesex-based company Wood, Hall and Heward Ltd for their innovative promotional brochure. The company are water transport specialists and the award citation commends the contemporary design of their promotional brochure for highlighting the new age of the waterways.

ENDS
Further information and pictures, contact:

CBOA: John Dodwell, Chairman, 020-7231-6247 or 07802-961485.
Email j.dodwell@cboa.org.uk and www.cboa.org.uk
Exol Lubricants: Steve Everitt, Managing Director, 0121-568-6800.
Email steve.everitt@exol-lubricants.com. www.exol-lubricants.com
John H Whitaker (Tankers) Limited: Mark Whitaker, Managing Director, on 01482-595300 Email mw@whitakertankers.com
Multimodal: Emma Murray, 07711 614 655, email emma@meantimecomms.com www.multimodal.org.uk

Notes for editors:
CBOA is the trade association for companies which carry freight on the UK’s inland and estuarial waterways. CBOA members collectively offer a one-stop service to advise companies on what can be done to take freight off the roads and on to water to capture economic and environmental benefits.

John H Whitaker (Tankers) Limited are a family owned business based in Hull and have successfully operated in the inland waterways and coastal tanker market since 1880. Whitakers specialise in bunkering visiting ships in the ports around the UK and also have fleet of inland barges capable of carrying all grades of bulk liquids within the United Kingdom.

 

Freight by water – A return to a golden age

The idea of freight returning to the 2,800 miles of navigable waterways crossing the United Kingdom has, for many years, been little more than wistful dreams thought up by those who hark back to a distant past when shire horses pulled barges along tow paths and real men smoked pipes.

But over recent years various interested parties have been taking a serious look at how the canals and waterways could once again be opened to freight transport and this time they may have cracked it.

The high profile launch, by British Waterways in 2003, of a scheme using barges to transport of 450,000 tonnes of sand and gravel between Denham and West Drayton, thereby removing 45,000 lorry loads off the road over a seven year period, went some way towards illustrating that it was indeed possible for a return to carrying freight on smaller waterways, albeit with limited applications.

However, over the last five years, huge steps in the development of water transport has been made and British Waterways’ partner in the Denham project, Land & Water Group has now designed and built a high capacity barge which makes freight transport on canals an environmentally and, perhaps more importantly, financially viable alternative to road haulage.

A framework dredging contractor for British Waterways since 2001, Land & Water was instrumental in the design and ongoing management of the entire Denham project from launch to the current day. It has first-hand experience of the limitations of operating on inner city canals and many lessons have been learnt since the launch of the original barges designed to carry the sand and gravel quarried in Denham.

As with any waterway, canals need to be maintained in order to keep them operational and British Waterways undertakes an extensive programme of dredging and maintenance throughout the year. Despite this, traditional barges are limited as to the weight they are able to carry due not only by the depth of the canal, but also the amount of water a fully loaded barge displaces. In order for freight by water to be a viable, cost-effective option, a special barge must to designed and built to cope with the unique conditions found in the waterways around the UK.

Land & Water Group’s Regional Contract Director Bill Gush comments, “The original concept for Denham was sound, and the unique bow configuration has gone a long way to minimise wash and disturbance on the waterway. However, whilst the canal meets modern leisure craft navigational standards, the waterway profile is still reduced from that of it’s original commercial cross section. By using a high displacement barge the vessel can suffer from ‘Restricted Water Syndrome’, this is a phenomena first identified on the approaches to locks on the Panama canal, where high displacement vessels ‘hogg’ or ‘squat’ onto the waterway bed, as water cannot freely reach the propulsion at the stern of the vessel.”

Taking these lessons learned, Land & Water has developed a new Olympic class hopper barge to operate on waterways that may suffer the same syndrome. The new, light-weight vessel is extremely shallow drafted, taking advantage of Land & Water’s light-weight hull and single skin floor design, and with a bow and stern that adopts the Denham hopper barge principle; Land & Water can now carry in excess of 85 tonnes, at an operating draft of under 1.37m (4ft 6in – the leisure craft navigation depth).

“This achievement unlocks all sorts of opportunities around the UK, and notably on the London’s Waterways” remarks Gush, “but to provide a truly integrated transport solution, we have designed the vessels to be rafted in groups of up to six, and when loaded to 75 tonnes capacity each, they are In-Class for navigation up and down the tidal Thames, and other similar category tidal waters. This eliminates the need for expensive transhipment, and opens a variety of avenues for multi-modal and multi-material transport.”

He continues, “To take the concept even further, we have included provision within the hold of the barge for a grillage to carry ISO container boxes which makes the carrying possibilities endless.”

The Olympic Barge is being pressed into immediate action in a partnership with Powerday plc, one of the UK’s largest and forward-thinking waste management companies. Over the last two years Powerday has invested over £12 million in a state of the art recycling center, based at Old Oak Sidings, Park Royal on the outskirts of London, which is able to convert all forms of industrial and domestic waste into a series of re-useable materials.

Once separated, the various waste constituents are all processed making this site one of the very few in the country which can genuinely claim to usefully recycle and reuse every constituent which comes through its gates. Waste wood is chipped and used at Slough power station to produce energy, nails are sold as scrap metal, plastics are separated and shredded before being processed for waste-to-energy and concrete is reduced to reclaimed aggregates and waste soils are recovered for re-use as a restoration soil at a remote landfill site, which is accessed directly by train from the site.  

The recycling center is based on the Grand Union Canal, and Powerday has installed a 75m long quay to accept barges up to 90 tonnes fully laden. The combination of a custom designed barge and waterside recycling plant has made the concept of canal transport a genuine commercial option, and Land & Water and Powerday have formed a commercial agreement to jointly market and develop their multi-modal and sustainable solutions for waste streams and building materials in Central and West London.

Mick Crossan, Chairman of Powerday plc comments, “Freight transport by water has always been something of a pipedream, but the introduction of the Olympic barge has now made it possible for waste to be transported from multiple sites within London to the recycling plant here at Old Oak Sidings. It is a very exciting development.”

But it is the long-term potential, which is really exciting for the various parties involved. The Regents Canal links with the Grand Union, which passes through the heart of London, which in turn joins up with the Olympic site in Leytonstone in East London. In an age when pressure is on contractors to reduce traffic and pollution in the capital, freight transport by canal is now a viable alternative.

It is already possible for all forms of waste to be loaded into the barge at various collecting sites across the capital and transported along the canal network to the processing plant at Old Oak Sidings at a competitive cost to conventional alternatives and without the environmental impact that more traditional road haulage would have.

In addition, Land & Water has entered into partnerships with marine towage specialists GPS Marine Contractors Ltd. for tidal vessel movements on the Thames, and with S. Walsh and Sons (landfill and recycling operators in the East Thames Corridor) and a number of landfill operators in this area to provide a one-stop shop for East London and Thames-side projects.

With an impressive ability to haul large amount of freight along a network of canals ready and waiting to be utilized, the Olympic barge may just be the answer to those who dream of a return to yesteryear.

***Note to the editor
Powerday operates the largest Materials Recovery Facility in the south of England, and is licensed to accept a wide range of materials 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. More than £12 million has been invested in the 1.6 million tonne recycling facility at Willesden Junction, which can receive waste materials by canal, rail or road. Recyclables can be moved out by all three transport modes, making it one of the most flexible facilities in the country.

for further information please contact:

Rod Kohler                        Tel:     0207 928 9999
Revolution PR                    Email: rod@revolutionpr.co.uk

For Powerday:

Jerome Veriter                   Tel:     07894 515875
Sauce Consultancy              Email:  jeromeveriter@sauceconsultancy.co.uk

The "green" barge shuttling containers up the Manchester Ship Canal from the Port of Liverpool to the heart of the North West of England is now making a regular "bus stop" call at Ellesmere Port en route to Irlam Container Terminal.

The push tug and barge discharged an initial 50 containers of organic molasses shipped into Liverpool's Royal Seaforth Container Terminal by Mediterranean Shipping Company from Paraguay, before sailing on up the Canal with boxes of Tesco wines bound for Manchester.

 

 

The molasses is being shipped into the UK by the Organic Division of Uren Food Group Limited, for distribution as livestock feed to organically certified farms.

Said Director James Uren, who founded the organic division of the family business 13 years ago: "The waterborne onward movement of the containers from the Port of Liverpool to Ellesmere Port fits well with the ethos of our organic activities and provides the most economic and environment friendly method of inland transportation."

The dawn discharge of the containers at Ellesmere Port was undertaken by Quality Freight (UK) Limited using their new £1 million Liebherr 150 mobile harbour crane. An hour later, the barge sailed for its next delivery stop at Irlam Container Terminal on the Ship Canal.

Sebastian Gardiner, Managing Director of Quality Freight (UK) Ltd said: "It was a text book discharge operation which we now expect to repeat on a regular basis for containers carrying not just molasses, but other cargoes bound for the North of England. Quality Freight is working with Peel Ports to grow the volume of freight moved by barge and reduce the road miles and carbon footprint of the logistics industry."

The liquid molasses is moved from Ellesmere Port to the Shropshire processing plant of Prime Molasses Limited for distribution to farms and animal feed manufacturers across the country.

Frank Robotham, Marketing Director of Peel Ports Group which owns the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal, commented: "Adding a regular call at Ellesmere Port to the shuttle's sailing schedule increases the flexibility of the service to shippers seeking a cost effective and environmentally sensitive means of moving their cargoes in and out of the North West of England.

"We are delighted that more companies such as Uren Food Group are utilising this unique transhipment service to minimise both costs and their carbon footprint."

Press Enquiries:

Department for Transport 2007 statistics were published late in 2008. It is a much under publicised fact that traffic on UK domestic waters accounted for 20% of all goods moved in 2007 – that is, taking account of the distances travelled as well as the actual tonnage. By contrast, rail’s has 8%. Over the last 10 years, this figure for water has increased by 6%.

67% of the 2007 figure was coastal movements;
30% was one port traffic e.g. to/from offshore oil and sea –dredged aggregate deposits;
3% within inland waters (including ships coming up estuaries).

Purely inland waters tonnage moved increased by 4% on 2006 to 1.7 billion tonne-kilometres.
In terms of actual inland waters tonnage in 2007, there was a 2% increase to 52m tonnes.
22m tonnes of this was 0n the Thames;
8m tonnes on the Forth;
13m tonnes on the Manchester Ship Canal/Mersey;
6m tonnes in the Humber with the rest elsewhere.

In Europe, Germany’s 59m tonnes were about the same as 10 years ago but France showed a 24% increase over the same period to 33m tonnes. 2007 figures for Holland and Belgium were not available; those for 2006 showed Holland 10% down over 9 years to 90m tonnes but Belgium increased 48% over that period to 37m tonnes. Romanian figures have been provided in recent years and 23m tonnes were carried in 2007.

Press release - Bespoke Executive Solutions Ltd - 31st March 2009

Experience narrow boating on the Midlands canals.

Bespoke Executive Solutions Ltd is a Family run business offering an unrivalled variety of canal-based activities, with a portfolio of services ranging from trip boats to boat handling courses, camping boats to luxury Skippered charters, Bespoke Executive Solutions Ltd aims to be able to offer Narrowboating experiences to a wide ranging market.

2009 sees the launch of our group activity packages, aimed at corporate groups, clubs etc, up to 36 people. Families, individuals and organisations are not forgotten, see our website (below) for details!

Residential options are available for a whole weekend afloat, actually working 1930’s historic craft through the locks and visiting places of interest along the way.
Maybe just a three-hour cruise on our trip boat, that has 36 covers, a fully stocked bar and a dance floor, would suit your group?

Whether you just want to relax and enjoy an unusual view of the world as the boat glides along, or whether you are looking for a novel venue for that special celebration or group outing, our boats are ideal.

Email us at the address below and we will send you our latest E – Brochure with all the details.
Planning a boating holiday or even a career afloat…?
Bespoke Executive Solutions can also offer:

Bespoke Executive Solutions Ltd can be found at;

www.bespokeexecutivesolutions.com

Office telephone: 01543 481868 Mobile 07527 727169

Email; mail@bespokeexecutivesolutions.com