It extended along the whole 36-mile (58 km) length of the ship canal, from Eastham in the west to Manchester in the east, absorbing the Port of Runcorn, which had been created in 1862.

[2][3] Once delivered to the port, goods could be transported to other parts of the country such as Leeds to the east, and up to 100 miles (160 km) south as far as Birmingham.

[4] On 1 January 1894, a steamer owned by the Cooperative Wholesale Society, the Pioneer, unloaded its cargo of sugar from Rouen, claiming the honour of being the first merchant vessel to be registered in the Port of Manchester.

[9] The peak year for tonnage was 1959, but the port declined in the 1960s because of the increasing size of ocean-going vessels, most of which could not enter the canal.

The success of its inaugural trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, encouraged Manchester Liners to order seven more ships to the same design.