Ships and shipping, page 6
Eastham and the
Manchester Ship Canal

The Manchester Ship
Canal opened in 1894 and links Manchester to the River
Mersey at Eastham, where there is a tidal lock.
Nowadays much of the canal traffic is of oil products which
venture no further up the canal than Stanlow. Docks
and wharfes are also in use at Ellesmere Port, Runcorn,
Irlam and Eccles but the former docks at Manchester have
been redeveloped for housing, retail and office space.
Mersey Ferries run cruises on the canal in the summer which
start/terminate in Manchester. The busiest year for
the canal was 1958 but since then changes in shipping
methods and containerisation have resulted in a huge decline
in traffic.

Pembroke Fisher is leaving the canal for Alexandria,
Egypt on a cold winter's day.

Patagonia,
June 2017.

The
preserved steam tug Kerne.

Speciality is a
chemical/oil products tanker built in 2006 and currently
sailing under the flag of the United Kingdom.