U534 - The U-Boat Story A Story of Regeneration

Neil Scales – Director General Department of Transport and Main Roads

Introduction

• Merseytravel and its predecessors have operated a ferry across the Mersey for the past 1300 years.

• Passenger numbers at their peak hit approximately 40 million a year!

• The routes have now lost their significance as a commuter route and passenger numbers had fallen to around 700,000 per year.

• I undertook a review of the opportunities that could be associated with travelling on the ferries and identified tourism to be an area for growth.

• There are two ferry terminals on the Wirral side of the Mersey, at Woodside and at Seacombe. On the Liverpool side of the river the ferry terminal is located at the world famous Pier Head adjacent to the Liver, Cunard and Port of Liverpool Buildings.

Mersey Ferry Route

Seacombe Terminal

Woodside Terminal

Pier Head

• The development at the Seacombe terminal quickly became an outstanding success, so Merseytravel turned their attention to what other attraction they could add to the Woodside Terminal.

• Meanwhile, about 1 mile away from the Woodside Terminal the Historic Warships Museum at the East Float in Birkenhead Docks were in financial trouble and heading for voluntary receivership.

• Amongst the collection of historical warships was a World War II submarine U534 which was owned by a Danish publishing magnate.

• To further complicate matters, an old warehouse and the land around it at the East Float where U534 was exhibited was required for development, so U534 weighing 900 tonnes, had to be moved.

A Brief History of the U534

SpecificationBuilt by Deutche Wert Hambert 1942C/O KL Herbert Noullau

Propulsion9 cylinder man diesel/electric 2 shafts 2,200 hpSpeed 7.3 knots max submergedSpeed 18.25 knots max surfaced

Displacement1,257 tons submerged1,144 tons surfaced

Dimensions253.3 ft length 22.688 ft beam

Draught14.27 ft light 15.41 ft laden

Armament4 torpedo tubes forward & 2 torpedo tubes aftForward G7A & G7E torpedoes Aft T5 & T11 torpedoesOne 37 mm Bofor Two 20 mm canon (one 105 mm gun removed in refit 1943)

Range10 knots 13,850 nautical miles & 18.3 knots 5,100 nautical miles

DepthNormal 330 ftMaximum 660 ft

1945 - Ignored the order to surrender, issued to all u-boats by Admiral Doenitz and headed for Norway before being sunk by a British Liberator aircraft with an Australian crew.

1986 – Discovered by the Danish wreck hunter, Aage Jensen, north east of the Danish island of Anholt

1993 – Danish media millionaire, Karsten Ree, sponsored the raising of the submarine

1986 – Transported to Birkenhead, the vessel formed part of the Warship Preservation Trust’s collection at Birkenhead Docks until the museum closed on 5th February 2006

U534 as an exhibit at the Historic Warships Museum – East Float from 1995 to 2006

• We realised that U534 offered them the perfect centre piece to a unique exhibition that could be accommodated as part of the Woodside Terminal. There were only two obstacles,

1. Merseytravel did not own it.

2. How could you move 900 tonnes of World War II submarine that is 76m long over 1 mile?

• Merseytravel approached the Danish owner and negotiated the sale of the vessel and the historic material recovered with her in order that the new exhibition had added value.

• So now just the small problem of how to move and display the submarine and turn the vision into reality?

Project Objective

The main objective of the project was to achieve economic and social benefits for Merseyside linked to regeneration and diversification of the economic base of the area

The Need for the Project

The project forms a significant element in securing the long-term future of Mersey Ferries as a major player in the local tourism economy.

In January 2008 the project was successful in its application to the Merseyside Objective One Programme in securing European Regional Development Funding.

The ERDF funding, together with Merseytravel’s own financial resources, enabled construction work to start.

Project Objective (cont)

It underpins the Mersey Ferries Business Plan and is one of the key elements in developing the Mersey Ferries as an “All Day” attraction

It supports the Wirral Waterfront Strategy which aims to regenerate Wirral’s Mersey shoreline to secure a vibrant, competitive and job rich economy based on the waterfronts past strengths, but also to exploit new and sustainable opportunities.

It supports the Merseyside Local Transport Plan in the four key areas. It supports sustainable economic development and regeneration. It assists in moderating the upward trend in car use and assists in the shift to more sustainable forms of transport, such as walking, cycling and public transport. It supports the most efficient and effective use of the existing transport network. It will enhance the quality of life for those who live, work in, and visit Merseyside.

Project Impact

The U-Boat Story attraction opened to the public at the end of 2008 and was formally launched on 10th February 2009 and directly employs 2 staff.

The impact of the new attraction at Woodside also ensures the future employment of a further 7 staff at Mersey Ferries together with staff now employed in the new café within the terminal.

The initial business plan forecast visitor numbers of 28,000 per annum. In the first year of operation the visitor numbers exceeded 38,000.

The presence of the U-Boat Story attraction has been reflected in increased visitor numbers at Woodside during the winter period many of whom are using the ferry as an integral part of their visit.

The creation of The U-Boat Story attraction at Woodside together with the enhancements to the ferry terminal building now provide a catalyst for further development in the area and supports the Woodside Master Plan.

Contributes to the £35m of economic benefit brought to the Region by Mersey Ferries.

• In 2006 after the Historical Warships Museum closed, the developers of the East Float buildings wanted the submarine moved from their site area.

• The first move of U534 provided engineering support with regard to the jacking positions and the stability of the submarine during the moving operation. The total distance of the move was around 900m.

First Moving Operation of U534

• We fully surveyed and tested the existing support steelwork and sea fastening positions so that they could be used as jacking positions.

First Moving Operation U534

Initial Questions

1. Where in the hull would the submarine be cut? Each location had to provide an interesting view of the inner workings of the submarine.

2. How heavy would each cut section of the submarine be? This would affect the way in which we could transport each sections.

3. What methods for transporting the cut sections were available to us? Multi-wheeled driven units via the public roads system or via the inner dock system and out into the Mersey using the crane barge, the Mersey Mammoth.

4. Once the cut sections arrived at Woodside how could we offload them into the required locations? The locations are away from the river and below the finished levels of the site.

Estimating the Weight

When U534 was moved in 2006 – Abnormal Load Engineering (ALE) had used load cells to identify the weight of the vessel which had been recorded at 800 tonnes.

From our take-off and inspection, we estimated the total weight of U534 at 940 tonnes.

Cutting Locations & Locations of the Supports

Stern Section 168 – 153 tonnes

Electrical Control Room 178 – 140 tonnes

Diesel Engine Room 182 – 154 tonnes

Control Room & Cabins 182 – 164 tonnes

Bow Section 181 – 147 tonnes

Conning Tower 50 – 40 tonnes

The Cutting Operation

Conclusion of this part of the project

The imaginative combination of the Mersey Ferry product and the unique artefact in U-534 has produced an attraction that will significantly add to the leisure and tourism on offer on Merseyside while providing a strong financial base which will ensure the continued operation of ferry services to Woodside and the preservation of U-534

Attractions

The Study - Aims

1 To profile attraction visitors

2 Contribution of attractions to the local economy in terms of jobs and income

Mersey Ferries - Profile

Mersey Ferries – Visitor Origin

33.5%28.7%

5.9%

17.3%14.6%

Resident

Elsew hereMerseyside

Elsew here NW

Elsew here UK

Overseas

Mersey Ferries Visitors – Socio Demographic

4.0%

4.0%

2.4%

1.1%

3.1%

6.1%

7.0%

6.1%

3.8%

11.3%

3.4%

3.5%

1.8%

2.6%

3.7%

7.2%

6.0%

6.9%

6.1%

10.1%

0 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 15

16 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75 +

Male

Female

Mersey Ferries Visitors – Influences/Motivations

The Beatles Story - Profile

The Beatles Story – Visitor OriginVisitor origin

39.3%

39.9%10.1%

3.0%

7.7%

Resident

ElsewhereMerseyside

Elsewhere NW

Elsewhere UK

Overseas

The Beatles Story – Socio Demographics

2.0%

5.3%

5.3%

6.8%

6.3%

6.5%

4.5%

4.3%

1.3%

2.3%

6.5%

15.5%

5.0%

9.8%

9.0%

4.3%

1.3%

0.8%

4.0%

0.8%0 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 15

16 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75 +

Male

Female

The Beatles Story – Motivation/Influence

Spaceport - Profile

Spaceport – Visitor Origin

Visitor origin

30.6%

33.9%

8.1%

17.7%

9.7% Resident

ElsewhereMerseyside

Elsewhere NW

Elsewhere UK

Overseas

Spaceport – Socio - Demographics

3.9%

15.0%

5.8%

1.9%

1.9%

8.2%

9.7%

2.9%

1.0%

1.0%

5.8%

9.2%

3.9%

1.9%

1.9%

8.7%

8.7%

1.9%

2.4%

2.4%

0 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 15

16 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75 +

M ale

Female

Spaceport – Influence/Motivation

U-boat Story - Profile

U-boat Story – Visitor OriginVisitor origin

21.3%

6.6%

30.3%

8.2%

34.4%

Resident

ElsewhereMerseyside

Elsewhere NW

Elsewhere UK

Overseas

U-boat Story – Socio Demographics

2.7%

8.4%

3.4%

4.0%

13.1%

6.7%

6.0%

16.4%

2.7%

6.0%

7.7%

6.0%

5.7%

0.3%

0.7%

6.0%

1.0%

1.0%

0.3%

1.7%

0 to 5

6 to 10

11 to 15

16 to 24

25 to 34

35 to 44

45 to 54

55 to 64

65 to 74

75 +

Male

Female

U-boat Story – Influences/Motivation

Linkages

Linkages between Attractions

The Mersey Ferries

The Beatles Story

Spaceport

The U‑Boat Story

23%23%

1%1%

2%2% 4%4%7%7%

17%17%

43%43%

5%5%

7%7%

15%15%57%57%

21%21%

Economic Impact

Attractions – Visits & Spend Summary

Mersey Ferries attracted 697,222 visitorsApproximately 189,000 visits were generated for the city region by the attraction.Visitor spend within the area was £7.2m

The Beatle’s Story attracted 188,815 visitorsApproximately 83,000 visits were generated for the city region by the attraction.Visitor spend within the area was £10.4m

Spaceport attracted 106,773 visitorsApproximately 46,000 visits were generated for the city region by the attraction.Visitor spend within the area was £2.4m

The U-Boat Story is expected to attract 55,000 visitorsApproximately 20,000 tourist visits would thus be generated for the city region by the attraction.Visitor spend within the area is c.£0.8m

Visitor Spend in Local Economy

£3

4.0

5

£1

6.8

7

£9

.69

£1

8.5

4£6

6.8

7

£4

8.8

2

£2

4.2

8

£2

6.7

5

£1

43

.29

£1

08

.85

£1

04

.09

£6

1.7

8

£2

10

.30

£1

52

.56

£1

04

.20 £

15

6.0

4

£0

£50

£100

£150

£200

£250S

pend

per

per

son

Merseyside

Northwest

UK

Overseas

Spend by Sector

As well as the headline numbers, we would estimate that the visitor spend in total by sector was as shown below.

Direct Visitor Expenditure by Sector

Total Economic Impact

Staffing

£29.6m524.0 FTE

£0.5m184.4 FTE

£4.2m34.2 FTE

£34.3m742.6 FTE

Visitor spend

Use of local suppliers

Conclusions

• Merseytravel have a successful tourism offer which contributes to the City Region Strategy

• Any questions?

Our vision: Connecting Queensland

delivering transport for prosperity

1. Deliver an integrated transport system that supports the safe, efficient and reliable movement of people and goods.

2. Provide a safe and cost-efficient transport infrastructure that meets the current and future needs of Queensland.

3. Deliver customer, safety and regulatory services that improve community safety and satisfaction.

4. Provide integrated passenger transport services that are safe and accessible.

5. Provide strategic corporate services that enable business outcomes and create a great workplace that values our people.

Our goal is to deliver an integrated, safe, efficient and reliable transport

system for Queensland.

• We are more cost conscious and focussed in our planning.

• We are delivering fit-for-purpose solutions.

• We are making sensible investment and operational decisions.

We are balancing the needs and cost of maintaining our existing and

aging transport assets

• Investing $1 billion over 10 years to upgrade the Bruce Highway to improve safety, capacity and flood immunity.

• Constructing stage one of the $1.2 billion, 13km Gold Coast Light Rail.

• Commencing work on the $1.147 billion Moreton Bay Rail Link.

• Focusing on economic growth in regional communities with more than $1 billion budget for improving major highways.

And delivering $17.2 billion of works across

local, state and national networks

We are responsible for 70% of all Queensland Government face-to-face transactions.

There is an opportunity to improve

Queenslanders’ service experience

The ‘One Stop Shop’ will create a single entry point for customers.

50% of transactions can now be undertaken online 24/7.

Our program of worksWe integrated TransLink into the department and became the sole

agency for passenger transport models

We expect to save over $12.1 million which will improve the reliability, affordability and frequency of the public transport network.

TransLink Division is working hard to improve the state’s transport network

• Co-ordinating the biggest public transport change in the south-east’s history.

• Combining CityTrain and TravelTrain for resource and reporting efficiencies.

• Undertaking a full review of the TransLink fare structure to improve affordability.

• Review regional long-distance passenger services to achieve value-for-money.

• Reviewing the Taxi Subsidy Scheme and implementing the Queensland Taxi Strategic Plan to improve the taxi industry.

We are also delivering integrated customer

experiences with standardised methods and processes

This will help improve services and enable us

to take on new responsibilities

We may change our activities, tasks, or the way we do

business. But, fundamentally, our business doesn’t change. Our business connects Queensland and

delivers transport for prosperity.