At the Greenock Ocean Terminal in Scotland, the quayside crane rails have been removed and replaced as part of an extensive infrastructure upgrade and modernisation project.

This will see two new £25 million ship-to-shore cranes introduced at the port.

Deans Civil Engineering, part of the RSK Group, supported Peel Ports on this important project at Greenock, the west of Scotland port which accounts for a third of all containers entering the country. The £3.8m project began in September 2023 with was completed on time in June 2024. Deans had a dedicated onsite team of circa 30 which comprised of project, site and contracts managers, quantity surveyors, engineers, foremen and groundworkers to manage on-site delivery.

Peel Ports has said that project will help to "future-proof" its operations in the freight port with the emphasis on accommodating an increased demand from cargo owners. It noted that this was the largest single investment for the container terminal since it began operating in 1969.

James McSporran, Director of Clydeport at Peel Ports Group, said: "The arrival of our new cranes later this year represents a really important milestone in the history of Clydeport. They will be key in future proofing the port, as well as helping us meet increased demand from cargo owners and fostering continued economic and employment opportunities in the Inverclyde area."

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Managing Director Steven Deans said: "We have been working on Peel Ports projects for several years now, initially as a civils and groundwork subcontractor to others. On this project we adopted the role of principal contractor which has allowed us to effectively manage complex subcontract packages, such as marine and rail subcontractors, while self - delivering the civils element of the project. These included Rapid Rail for the installation of new crane rails, Shearwater Marine to fit the four storm anchors on the vertical face of the quayside and RJ Smith for earthing works. As Deans is predominately a civils and groundworks contractor, our wider team’s expertise was crucial to the project due to the complex nature of the works."

Steven said it was exciting to be part of a major infrastructure project designed to future-proof the port. "The logistics and programme phasing had to be planned and managed thoroughly as the port required uninterrupted access for boats to be off loaded unimpeded.

"The priority for Peel Ports was that Deans would be a self-sufficient unit and that we could deliver the project in phases on time for the delivery of the new cranes. At tender and operations stage, this provided a challenge for our team to ensure that our construction works did not obstruct the daily operations of the port, while delivering our contractual works within the agreed time period. It’s always incredibly satisfying to be confronted these challenges and successfully work to overcome them and deliver the project to client specifications.

"We also loved seeing the project’s community initiatives like the naming contest for the two new cranes with local schools with the winners naming the cranes: Craner Swift and U-Crane Bolt’."

Deans Civil Engineering will be undertaking another project for Peel Port. The work, at King George V Docks, Glasgow, will involve the creation of an egress road to allow for the relocation of stored wind turbine equipment, received by boat, by road to wind farm projects. The £1.5 million project will include extensive bulk earthworks, creating a new 11000m2 storage area and various section 56 and section 109 alterations to existing road infrastructure.