Forth Ports has announced a series of new leadership appointments as its senior team is restructured to reflect the growing role of ports in the offshore renewables sector.
The three roles span oversight of the group’s energy business, containers and cargo, and operations.
Forth Ports owns and operates eight commercial ports in the UK and is the country’s third largest port operator, with operations at Tilbury on the Thames, Dundee on the Firth of Tay and six on the Firth of Forth – Leith, Grangemouth, Rosyth, Methil, Burntisland and Kirkcaldy.
David Webster has been appointed as director of Energy, with responsibility for integrating the group’s energy team in Scotland and building its position in the energy sector, in particular offshore renewables.
Mr Webster will retain his existing responsibilities as senior port manager responsible for the ports of Dundee and Leith, where the group is currently constructing a £40 million offshore renewables hub.
This will see the development of a floating wind-enabled berth with more than 50 acres of laydown space, as well as a further 35 acres of quayside linked space dedicated to building green manufacturing bases and local content.
The hub is closely linked to a joint bid by bp and EnBW to build 2.9GW of offshore wind capacity secured under the ScotWind leasing round. Forth Ports says development of the Leith site will support up to 1,000 high-quality, long term jobs, as well as around 2,000 indirect jobs.
© Supplied by Forth Ports
© Supplied by Forth Ports
© Supplied by Forth Ports
In addition, Ross McKissock has been appointed as director of unitised, responsible for integrating the commercial team on unitised container and trailer cargo across the Group and growing volume. Ross will also retain his responsibilities for running London Container Terminal.
Derek Knox has been appointed as head of operations for Scottish Ports, with strategic and operational responsibility for quality performance and efficiency across the group’s Scottish sites.
Mr Knox retains his responsibilities as senior port manager at the Port of Grangemouth, Scotland’s largest container port, and the group’s Fife ports, including Rosyth.
Commenting on the new roles, chief executive Charles Hammond said: “These new senior positions come at a key time when we are focusing our business on the important areas of offshore renewables, containerised cargo and a resilient supply chain.
“As a group we are investing significantly across the business in these areas including our bespoke renewables hubs in Leith and Dundee and our freeport freight hub in the Thames.”
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