The biggest single investment in decades at Peel Ports Clydeport in Greenock promises to open up new markets in the US and Far East. Yet this is just one of a series of major infrastructure initiatives that sees the company forging ahead in other areas such as the renewables and cruise sectors
THE outlook is bright for Peel Ports Clydeport. As the operator of several facilities on the Clyde, it is growing all its businesses and market share along the Clyde estuary and elsewhere.
Among the units it operates are in Greenock, where it operates both the Port of Greenock Container Terminal and Ocean Cruise Terminal, as well as the King George V Dock in Glasgow, Ardrossan Harbour and the Hunterston PARC estate in Hunterston, Ayrshire.
Jim McSporran, the charismatic Port Director at Peel Ports Clydeport, is optimistic, pointing out that the group’s strategy of investment appears to be paying off.
This is particularly true at Greenock, where there has just been investment in two brand new automated ship-to-shore cranes at a total cost of some £25 million.
They replace the existing cranes, which have been well maintained over the years but are now ageing and considered to be beyond their working lives.
The new structures are currently being constructed in Cork and are expected to arrive in the late spring of this year.
“They are best in class and enable us to handle the very largest vessels”, he says. “We are bringing in our first deep water international vessel service from southern Europe shortly, which will open up gateways to the Far East and the US. We will then be deemed the only deep-water port in Scotland, so that’s really important for us.”
With this technology in place, Peel Ports Clydeport now aims to access the transatlantic market. “Once again, that’s a game changer for us and for the ports industry in Scotland.
“The new cranes are the biggest single investment at our Greenock site since our container terminal opened in 1969, which is a real statement of intent and future proofs our operations at the site. We anticipate that they will be fully operational by June. We will be bringing in gantry cranes later and the ones at Greenock, along with the two new ones, will be electric. That will all help us to decarbonise.”
What difference will the new structures make? “They will allow us to increase capacity in terms of the number of containers on the vessel”, says McSporran. “We can also go wider by three or four containers.
“We can compete with deep water ports elsewhere in the UK and Europe. Because it’s such a major investment for us, we’re tying up with some local schools and getting the kids to name the two cranes. That competition is running just now.”
He estimates that adding the two cranes to Greenock will increase capacity by around 40 per cent. “Now we can get the very biggest ships in.”
Peel Ports Clydeport has also been active at Ocean Cruise Terminal at Greenock, which has been designated for the use of cruise ships. The company believes it can match any other operator in the UK on the quality of this and an expansion programme is under way.
A dedicated, £20m full-service terminal building opened on the site a few months ago linked to a cruise pontoon. “Before we had this, we used to have to bring cruises alongside the main terminal and stop operations there.
“We no longer have to operate this way. We now have a dedicated building with a transfer facility, restaurant and museum. That’s been absolutely huge for us.
McSporran believes that there is plenty of scope for Peel Ports Clydeport to pick up more cruise business. “We were late to the party, but we have now invested heavily in the infrastructure and on the marketing side as well.
“We enjoyed a record year for cruise numbers in 2023, welcoming around 150,000 passengers, which was great to see. We are definitely hoping to grow this part of the business and increase the number of cruise ships we can accommodate.”
Expansion, investment, foresight and a considerable amount of determination have made Peel Ports Clydeport into one of the biggest ports companies – if not the biggest – in Scotland.
It currently operates in seven different locations across the Clyde estuary, employing some 200 people, and is considering further expansion of this.
One big advantage the company has is that its operations are extremely diverse, operating in highly specialised markets and with a real commitment to renewables and the green transition. It certainly gives every indication of being set for a bright future.
One of its most important assets is the historic King George V Dock in the centre of Glasgow, often referred to affectionately as KGV.
“It’s in the centre of the city and does a million tonnes a year of various bulk materials”, says McSporran. “In addition, it’s also a hub for onshore renewables in Scotland.”
Without doubt, the facilities there have understandably suffered from ageing: it was first built in 1931 and some of the sheds date from around 1947.
“They’re getting a bit tired, so we’ve basically refurbished and reinvented the facility.
“We’ve cleared the site out – we’ve demolished these old sheds and are building new ones, leading to better quality facilities as well as bigger throughputs and a higher capacity for storage.
“It’s also allowing our customers to grow onsite, meaning we’re no longer forced to contend with issues that previously restricted us. We’ve also acquired additional land, which will provide us with additional acreage to further support the onshore renewables market.”
PEEL Ports Clydeport is already the busiest onshore facility of its type in this market in Scotland and further works at King George V Dock are intended to enhance this status. “They’re pretty evident now to anyone that passes the site. It’s a big facility and it’s getting bigger.”
Peel Ports Clydeport – the controlling port authority for some 450 square miles of the river – reckons it has invested some £80 million in its Clydeport facilities in the three and a half years since McSporran took over the role as Port Director.
“That trend is only going to continue going forward. For example, the next big investments will again be at KGV in Glasgow, where the two cranes are getting on a bit and the plan is to replace them over the next few years with two state-of-the-art ones. Again, that’s a massive statement of our ambitions for the site.”
McSporran is a firm believer in the fact that a growing business needs the very best infrastructure in place. “We’ve had a few smaller investments – and by that I do mean in the millions – but our programme is now gathering pace.”
As well as improving its hardware, Peel Ports is making a determined effort to play its part in the green economy and the move to net zero. It aims to get to the latter by 2040 – five years ahead of the Scottish Government’s already ambitious 2045 deadline.
The port operator recently announced it had reduced greenhouse gas emissions across its port facilities by almost one third since 2020, and also won the Green Champion award at the Glasgow Business Awards for its ongoing sustainability efforts.
The company has further made a huge switch to electric vehicles across its fleet, with more than 85% of them across the group using this method of power, demonstrating the scale of its commitment.
“We plan to clear up the rest of the fleet in the next year or so. All of our heavy plant and equipment is electric where that technology is available or has moved on to HVO (a cleaner, lower carbon and less emitting alternative to diesel). So, we’re making a huge impact in the green space.”
Another big investment is taking place in North Ayrshire, where the PARC site at Hunterston is also owned by Peel Ports and is being repurposed for the future.
The 320-acre site was originally used from the 1970s onwards for the bulk import of iron ore and coal. This was then transported onwards for use in giant industrial facilities such as the former Ravenscraig steel works in Lanarkshire and the Longannet power station in Fife, both of which have now closed down.
The company has poured huge effort into this site, putting other plans for marketing and information gathering and signing a deal with the subsea cable producer XLCC.
This business is coming into Hunterston PARC later this year to undertake state-of-the-art subsea cable manufacturing facilities.
The investment is close to half a billion pounds.
“Something like 80% of the site is now committed to customers”, McSporran adds. “A variety of businesses are in or through planning. The biggest we have is for the development of our marine yard to become an offshore renewable hub.
“Yet another plan at Hunterston PARC is to build a 35-acre park to generate solar energy with a specialised farm, making another high profile commitment to the green transition.
“We agreed as a board that we had to commit to a target, and we were in a position to actually go and do something about it. You have to then deliver on what you promise.”
McSporran concedes that the company’s approach to green issues is aggressive. “We are very committed to the whole decarbonisation agenda. We need to meet our target and we will do our very best to make that happen.”, employing Peel Ports Clydeport’s plan has always been to change the way the market is approached and invest to develop the business. Commercial activity has grown exponentially as a result, and this is scheduled to continue.
“Everything is back to pre-Covid levels and above. Hunterston PARC is expected to develop in the next couple of years and that is a whole new business in its own right.”
He expects performance to improve further in the future: “It’s going to be very busy – there is a lot of work coming along in the pipeline. I think the company is absolutely bang on in terms of the direction of travel – where it wants to get to and how it gets there.
“Our ambitions and facilities are creating opportunities for investment, jobs and skills that will continue to benefit the people and businesses of Scotland.
“We embrace everything that is thrown at us, and we are growing as a business and as a team because of that.
“It’s an aggressive company and a diverse business. We work hard and we have targets, and we deliver what we say for our customers. That shines through in terms of our results.”
This article was brought to you in association with Peel Ports
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