Aberdeen’s Asco has won a three-year deal to operate a new heavy lift quay at the Teesside Freeport.
The logistics firm will manage the Teesworks £114m south bank heavy lift quay creating 65 jobs in the North East of England.
The 450-metre quayside development was chosen to serve South Korean firm SeAH Wind’s £450m manufacturing facility, allowing monopiles to be shipped out to offshore wind farms in the North Sea.
Teesworks said it expects the monopile factory will be operational in 2026.
Teesworks and the freeport
Teesworks is a private/public partnership spearheading the development of a 4,500 acre brownfield site which includes the former Redcar steelworks. It is a major part of the Teesside Freeport, the largest UK freeport, which also includes Teesport, the Port of Middlesbrough, the Port of Hartlepool and Teesside International Airport.
The heavy-lift quay was awarded £107m of loan funding in the UK Infrastructure Bank’s first ever investment in 2021.
Teesworks is 90% owned by local developers Chris Musgrave of JC Musgrave, and Martin Corney of Northern Land Management and the remaining 10% is owned by the public-sector South Tees Development Corporation (STDC).
Asco work scope
Work to be offered by Asco will include quayside planning and scheduling, operations coordination, vessel scheduling, stevedoring and internal distribution services.
The Aberdeen firm expects work to begin in the summer this year, with the first vessel expected to berth in September.
ASCO CEO Mike Pettigrew, said: “The south bank quay is a flagship project for Asco which will propel us along the right track right at the start of 2024, en route to achieving our future goals.
“It confirms and reinforces our intention to make significant investment into increasing our footprint in the new energies sector over the coming years.
“Winning such a major contract is a testament to the work that we have done over the years where we have delivered world-class logistics services across the energy industry while contributing to the economic growth of the communities in which we operate.”
Garry O’Malley, operations director at Teesworks, said Asco have “a great deal of experience in port and terminal operations both in the UK and globally”.
He added: “The award of this contract also marks another milestone for the Teesworks site as it makes the transition to greener energy.
“Asco as the quay operator will provide the operational expertise required to ensure service levels for users of this valuable asset are of the highest standard. This partnership will create up to 65 direct jobs providing more employment opportunities for the area.”