The Liverpool Cruise Terminal is a 350-metre-long floating structure situated on the River Mersey enabling large cruise ships to visit without entering the enclosed dock system or berthing mid-river and tendering passengers ashore. Centrally placed in the Irish Sea, the Cruise Terminal is perfectly placed for Round Britain itineraries and is an excellent starting point for Transatlantic, North European and Baltic Cruises.
Our Involvement
Carlisle Security have been providing security services to the Liverpool Cruise Terminal since 2013 as a specified addition to our Liverpool City Council contract. As a client, Carlisle have worked with Liverpool City Council to develop a partnership that extends to almost 20 years. The City of Liverpool Cruise Terminal delivers security services for passenger cruise ship calls and Royal Navy ships visiting throughout the year. The Cruise Terminal itself is a “Restricted Area” under the International Ship and Port Facility Security Regulations 2004 (ISPS Code) and, as such, the integrity of the security regime must be maintained to the highest standards at all times by our staff – as you would expect – these facilities are, of course, subject to regular inspections by the Department for Transport. At the start of our contract, it was clear that our client wanted to improve their existing service level whilst minimising risk during contract transition. It was also clear that our support in this area was influenced by our reputation in the local area for developing service standards. Carlisle recognised the importance of the contract and required vision of Liverpool City Council from the outset and set out to ensure that our trademark culture of ‘personal service’ was combined with strong and
experienced local leadership. The service requirements and standards expected of Carlisle include, but are not limited to:
• Providing access and egress control into the Cruise Liner terminal Restricted Areas
• Searching passengers/visitors to the ship; vehicles and their drivers at specific entry points at the Cruise Liner Terminal
• Security screening of passengers and visitors at the Cruise Liner Terminal, together with any baggage, including: Rapiscan ex-ray machines, archway and hand held metal detectors and personal searching
• Stewarding of passengers and visitors at the Cruise Liner terminal, to ensure their safe passage whilst in the terminal berth area
• Occasional driving of hired mini-buses and/or the on-site golf buggy in order to transport the elderly, infirm and/or passengers with mobility issues to and from the terminal area.
Our Key Account Manager for Liverpool Cruise Terminal – Billy Callaghan – is a qualified Ports Facilities Security Officer and trainer and all of our site teams are ISPS trained and pass checked which enables them to exercise powers to detain, search and remove people from site when required and/or appropriate. This has proven to be particularly beneficial during a number of major events such as the ‘Three Queens’ event in 2015 which saw security cover increase substantially.
The Three Queens event saw 6,000 passengers and 500 VIP visitors on-site daily including passenger friends and family and VIP tour guide guests. Our team provided an essential service for this high risk, high profile event throughout its 3-day agenda by working in partnership with the port security team and deploying
additional staff throughout each day. Carlisle personnel were provided with bespoke uniforms and delivered a first-class concierge service to all VIP’s and visitors. This service included safely escorting visitors from the quayside to the ship.
Our local team members were also able to provide detailed knowledge of both the area where the event took place and the running order of the day’s activities due to a thorough pre- event briefing.
Carlisle have been able to offer a trained team that work hand in hand with port security to ensure that staff and visitors are always in a safe and secure environment.