1⁄2 day workshop, Friday 18th February 2019 Pennypit Centre, Rope Walk, Prestonpans Hosted by Prestonpans Community Council

1. Delivering a Cruise/Ferry Port at Preston Links
½ day workshop,
Friday 18th February 2019
Pennypit Centre, Rope Walk, Prestonpans
Source: Port of Tallinn
Prestonpans Community Council

2. The technical and strategic case
for a port at Preston Links
Dr. Alf Baird
Prestonpans Community Council Workshop
Prestonpans
18th January 2019
Source: Port of Tallinn

3. Content
• Historical perspectives
• Design solutions for cruise + ferry ports
• Developing a port at Preston Links
• Summary

4. Maritime Policy
• Presentation does not reflect SG or TS policy!
• Is there a ‘Scottish Maritime Policy’?
• Alan Brown MP, SNP Westminster Transport Spokesperson:
• “at the moment there is a lack in modern port capacity within Scotland”
• “this is going to require Government investment and ambition”
• “possibilities to realise this including..a strategic..motorway with the sea
connection to the EU markets, and that would be from a new gateway port at
Cockenzie”
(The future of UK ports post-Brexit - infrastructure, opportunities and
policy, Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum, 27th March 2018)

5. When I was a (very young!) shipping clerk and
ship agent in the 1970s……
• Hapag Lloyd’s MV Europa
Source: Forth Ports

6. Initial research (1991)
• Port infrastructure on Forth is Victorian era
• No new port infrastructure for 100 years
• Lock entrances/small enclosed docks
• Unsuited to modern ships & logistics
• Ever larger ships need different type of port:
• Riverside terminal/plenty of land
• Close to the open sea
• Direct intermodal connections
• Avoid congested city streets
• Lower port charges
• Conclusion: The Forth needs a new port!

7. Could the power station site be a new port?

8. Intended closure of power station mid-1990’s
Harbour Freight
Terminal
Intermodal
connections

9. Acheson/Morrison’s Haven
Source: Julie Aitken (2000)

10. Further Studies (1993-95)

11. ‘(Cruise-Ferry) Jetty (at Preston Links) should run in 340 T direction
for 375m with spur on end making angle of 120 with main jetty’
‘PROPOSED FERRY TERMINAL’, Capt. J. Landels, Firth of Forth
Harbourmaster, Report for Scottish Power (1993)
A 7.0m depth ferry berth can be provided at this location without any dredging
Wind Rose

12. Map of selected port options/shortlist
(1995)
12 Options considered 4 Options shortlisted

13. Leith
• 6.7m dredged channel, deepen to 7.5m
• Lock entrance constraint (length/width)
• Added ship time
• Tug costs
• City congestion
• No direct access to trunk roads
• Cost and attractiveness (for ship operator)?

14. Musselburgh/Prestongrange
• 7.5m dredged berth feasible
• Dredged channel
• Limited back-up land
• Land access?

15. Preston Links/Cockenzie
• Existing depth of 6-7m
• Dredge berths to 7.5m
• Short channel
• Arguably best option for
cruise/ferries
• Question of demand for
direct ferry service?

16. Power Station given ‘reprieve’ to beyond 2000

17. Political emphasis shifts to Rosyth (Inner Forth)
• Closure of Naval Base (riverside berths)
• Loss of Dockyard jobs - Submarine refits moved to Plymouth
• ‘Rosyth 2000’ initiative (Forth Ports; Scottish Power; BoS)
• 7.5m depth dredged channel
• 43m Bridge ‘airdraft’ constraint
• Extra ship steaming upriver
• Wrong side of river?
• Limited land availability

18. Scotland-Continent Ferry Studies (1995-2000)
• Pieda; Halcrow Fox; MDS Transmodal; (TRI) Napier University
• EU PACT & EU Interreg Programme studies (Napier University)
• Studies found sufficient demand exists for direct ferry service
• Scottish Enterprise International Tender to select operator (1999)
• 4 shortlisted bidders - Superfast Ferries selected in 2000
• 2 x €100m newbuild cruise-ferries/daily service
• Rosyth-Zeebrugge Cruise-Ferry started May 17th 2002
• Target market was achieved by 2005/6
• DFDS ended Rosyth-Zeebrugge service in 2018

19. Cockenzie Energy Port Study (Scottish Enterprise
2014)
• Power Station ceased energy production in 2013
• Site raised again as potential cruise/ferry port
• SE Environmental Impact Assessment for dedicated ‘energy port’
• Harbour Empowerment Order Application (2014) – ‘to enable
creation of a new harbour and quayside’
• “Priority should be given to those proposals that make best use of the
location’s assets and bring greatest economic benefits” (Fergus Ewing
MSP)

20. Energy Port Proposal (Scottish Enterprise)
• Significant dredging involved
• Large reclamation
• Port land needed for turbines
• Costly quay construction
• Technically achievable
• Expensive ‘solution’
• Unpopular with locals
• SE went to Methil

21. Developing a port at Preston Links for modern
passenger ships
Source: Tallink
Source: Port of Tallinn

22. Largest cruise ship dimensions North Sea (current)
• MSC Preziosa
• 140,000 grt
• 4,345 passengers
• 1,500 crew
• 333m length
• 38m wide
• 8.5m draft
• Cost - €550 million
• Largest boats on order – 362m length; 54m beam; 9.0m draft; 225,000 grt

23. Cruise-ferries
• 180-240m length
• 28-32m beam
• 6.5-7.0m draft
• 40-60,000 grt
• 1,000-2,000 pax
• 200-1,000 cars
• 100-300 trailers
• Cost €100-200m

24. Hatston Pier, Kirkwall
• 140 cruise ship calls in 2019
• 170 cruise ship calls in 2020
• Considering further piers
• Longer season: March-Nov
• Ferries all year round
• Smallest ship:
• 65m length
• 3.2m draft
• 70 passengers
• Largest ship:
• 333.33m length
• 8.6m draft
• 4,345 passengers
Ferry berthCruise berth
Misc berths
Causeway to shore
Source: OIC

25. Hatson Pier, Kirkwall
Dredging, reclamation
piling, and decking

26. Hatston Pier, Kirkwall
Freight &
Logistics
• Cost abt. £25m (built 2003, extended 2013)
• OIC, HIE, and EU funded
Source: OIC

27. Aberdeen New (South) Port
Source: Aberdeen Harbour Board
Old port constrained - ship length, beam and draft

28. Aberdeen New (South) Port

29. Aberdeen New (South) Port
• New GREENFIELD PORT SITE, partly SSSI
• Cost £350m+ (part of City Deal + public investment, SE, EIB Loan)
• Artificial port requiring major breakwaters & reclamation, quays, land
• Fast-tracked (NPF3) port development:
• Environmental Impact Assessment 2015
• Application for Planning Permission 2015
• Planning Permission in Principal 2016
• Harbour Revision Order (HRO) granted 2016
• Marine Licence granted 2016 (Marine Scotland Act 2010)
• Marine License for dredging granted 2016:
(6.1m tonnes/2.85m M3 - 23% for reclamation/77% deposited offshore)
• Construction started 2017 – port opening in 2020

30. Aberdeen New (South) Port dredging
From -2m/5m
depth to 10m
depth
Source: Aberdeen Harbour Board

31. Invergordon new ‘Energy & Cruise Hub’
• New 3rd cruise pier under construction
• £30m project, ready in 2020
• Involves dredging/reclamation for 10m
• Funded by HIE, SG, Trust Port
• To cater for largest cruise ships & energy
• ‘The port is a national strategic asset
and hub of economic activity’:
• generating £275 million per annum
• supporting 1 in 6 jobs in TTWA
• ‘Busiest cruise Port in Scotland in 2017’;
150,000 passengers (97,993 in 2016)
http://www.pocf.co.uk/

32. Stornoway new port
• Port Masterplan (2017)
• Creation of a new Deep Water
• 800 metres of quay (10m below CD)
• 29 hectares of laydown area
• RoRo ferry terminal
• Cruise berth for ships up to 330m length
• Bus marshalling area for cruise passengers
• Twin track road to the main road (A859)
• Link to Creed Enterprise Park
• Shoreside renewable power connections
http://www.stornowayportauthority.com/

33. Stornoway new port
• Aim to support existing jobs
• To boost employment
• Improve resilience and capacity
of ferry services
• Reduce congestion
• Improve community facilities
• Expected to open 2022
• Greenfield site – fast-tracked
• Funded by SG, HIE, trust port
• Cost £45-50m
Dredged From 2m
to 10.5m depth

34. Greenock
• £15m cruise terminal
• Funded by Glasgow City Region City
Deal
• Berthing facility, visitor centre
• Restaurant, retail
• Art gallery (sculptor George Wyllie)
• Attract £26m extra spending to local
economy with over 150,000
passengers
• Completion Spring/Summer 2020

35. Lerwick
• 90 cruise ships per year (2018)
• Ferries daily (Passengers & Freight)
Source: Lerwick Port Authority

36. Lerwick Dredging Inauguration Event 2009
• Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for
Transport, Infrastructure & Climate Change
unveiling framed navigation chart showing
the newly dredged areas at the Port of
Lerwick
• £12m project to dredge and reclaim harbour
• Provide 9m water depth at port entrances
• Allows port to handle larger cruise ships
• ‘Safeguards over 2,000 jobs in Shetland’
https://www.lerwick-harbour.co.uk/dredging-inauguration

37. Southampton
• 2 million
passengers/year
• 500+ cruise ship
calls
• 4 cruise terminals
• UK’s top
departure port
MAYFLOWER
CRUISE
TERMINAL
CITY CRUISE
TERMINAL
OCEAN CRUISE
TERMINAL
QEII CRUISE
TERMINAL
‘…each call generating around GBP 2 million for the local economy’
(Source: ABP/Shippax, p.45 Dec 18)

38. Cruise Terminal Info
• Max ship length – 400m
• Max depth – 10.5m
• Check in desks – 36-50
• Lounge seats – 700-1200
• Baggage hall – yes
• Café & bar – yes
• Coach bays – 18-28
• Taxi rank – yes
• Drop-off lanes – yes
• Long/short stay parking – yes
• Secure store facilities - yes

39. Southampton cruise berths dredged to 10.5m, river
channel dredged even deeper (14m)
Dredged Area

40. Hotels on Southampton waterfront

41. Port of Felixstowe (natural depth 4-5m!)

42. St. Maarten

43. St. Maarten Cruise Piers

44. Grand Turk Cruise Pier

45. Tallinn (€11m pier, 2013)

46. Tallinn 2nd cruise pier under construction (2014)

47. Tallinn second pier completed
Source: Port of Tallinn

48. Natural 9m+ deep channel already exists off Preston Links

49. Backfill Causeway
Dredged berths
RoRo ramp
Pier/mooring dolphins
Piled platform
10m 8m
Freight/access
Channel
9-10m Turning Circle
Indicative Port Plan
9-10m
Marina/water
sports area

56. Cruise Lines

57. Cruise-Ferry services
• Forth-Continent – ‘Superfast II’
• Northern Isles – NorthLink
• Norway – Fjord Line
• Faero Islands/Denmark – Smyril Line

58. Freight (roro) and Auto Carriers
• DFDS
• Cobelfret
• UECC
• Eimskip

59. Prestonpans Trimodal Terminal
• Rail
• River
• Road
• Free Trade Zone (FTZ)

60. Forth Estuary Barge Service
Electric barge with rechargeable batteries
Prestonpans
Grangemouth

61. River Transport - connecting coastal seaports
with inland terminals Le Havre - Paris
Liverpool - Manchester
Hamburg – River Elbe
Zeebrugge - Antwerp

62. Potential for a CO2 free port
• Shore power/plug in to ships
• Use of ship battery power for port entry/exit
• Shift to LNG fuel at sea
• Norway moving to CO2-free ships in port by 2022
• Increased use of Fuel cells/hydrogen power
• Electric vehicles used on terminals

63. Cruise Ship Waste Management Systems
•Wastewater treatment systems
•Sanitary systems
•Ballast water treatment systems (EVAC)
•Sustainable sourcing
•Recycling starts on board
•Minimising landfill waste

64. Value of ships & trade
• Largest cruise ships now costing over $1 billion each
• Cruise ships carry up to 8000 people (6000 pax/2000 crew)
• These people bring their spending power with them
• Freight @ e.g. £50,000 average goods value per container/trailer:
• e.g. 100,000 freight units = £5 billion worth of trade/year
• Opportunities for value added logistics (auto, retail, construction,
pharmaceuticals, manufacturing etc)
• Many successful ports are also Free Trade Zones (add €billions value)

65. Economic Impacts of Cruise/Ferry Port
• Direct; Indirect; Induced plus ‘New Service’ Effects
• New Direct Ferry, 6,199 – 8,757 jobs in Scotland (study for Scottish
Enterprise 1998):
• Increase export trade £360m - £540m
• Increase tourism 5%-10%
• Cruise? Southampton estimate local impact of £2m per ship call
• Other impacts? E.g. cruise ship ‘homeport’ (turnarounds – stocking a
ship with 500 tonnes goods/€1m value, extra hotel nights etc)
• Impacts of any significant port tend to be in the 000’s of jobs
• If unsure, do a study!

66. Indicative cruise/ferry port annual cashflows
Estimated Annual revenues/profit for Preston Links Cruise & Ferry Port
Calls/year ave size grt rate/grt charge/ship Total (£)
Cruise ships 200 65,000 0.45 29,250 5,850,000
Other charges 200 10,000 2,000,000
Cruise-Ferries 360 40,000 0.30 12,000 4,320,000
Freight 50,000 units 100 unit 5,000,000
Cars 50,000 units 10 unit 500,000
Other charges 365 10,000 3,650,000
Other vessels 100 (Freight, Military etc) 10,000 1,000,000
Rents and other income 1,000,000
Total Revenue 23,320,000
Profit Margin would be expected to exceed 30% @ 30% Annual profit 7,765,560

67. Masterplan ‘concept’- a mixed bag of ‘stuff’ filling
an assumed obsolete empty ex-industrial site?
Source: Cockenzie Masterplan

68. What do we actually see here?
1. Harbour for seagoing ships
2. Freight terminal
3. Intermodal connections
• Cruise/Ferry & Logistics opportunity
• A trimodal seaport opportunity
• The only new port opportunity on Forth
• Complies with NPF3-ND12
• An excellent fit for a Clean Energy Port
1
2
3

69. NPF3 - National Development 12 (ND12) –
‘Freight Handling Capacity on the Forth’
• 1 – Location: Existing and disused ports and harbors on the Forth Estuary
and transport access to them
• 2 - Description of Classes of Development: Development consisting of:
• a. the construction of new and/or expanded multi-modal container freight
• b. the construction of new and/or replacement road infrastructure
• c. the construction of new and/or upgraded railway track
• 3 - Designation: A development within one or more of the Classes of
Development described in paragraph (2) (a) to (c) is designated a national
development
• 4 - Need: support continued demand for freight handling facilities to
service North Sea freight shipping routes. Potential sites around the Firth of
Forth in close proximity to a large share of Scotland's population, and are
accessible from transport routes to allow for onward transport of freight

70. Preston Links is the only NEW port option

71. Port engineering study required
• Location setting & Marine conditions
• Meteorology & Geology
• Design vessels & Key user requirements
• Pier alignment and specification
• Cruise Pier layout options & conceptual design
• Construction programme, materials, and cost
• Environmental overview

72. Port Development strategy
• Political leadership essential
• Cruise Ferry Port Delivery Team/Steering Group
• Focus on Planning, Financing and Marketing
• Port engineering, market & economic impact studies
• Government funding, loans etc (NPF3-ND12)
• Planning Application
• Harbour Revision/Empowerment Order (HRO/HEO)
• Environmental Statement (ES) and EIA
• Marine licence/licence for dredging
• International marketing/Operating concession?

73. Summary
• Potential for major new port at optimal location – Preston Links
• Dredging is part of all port projects / this port is relatively modest scale
• Brownfield site with plenty back-up land (lowers cost of development)
• Fits NP3-ND12 as multi-modal harbour of national importance
• Preston Links is the ONLY opportunity for a new modern European
gateway port serving Scotland
• Potential for handling £billions in trade & generating thousands of jobs
• Potential for rapid development – requires political support/funding
• Port Development Strategy

74. Delivering a Cruise/Ferry Port at Preston Links
THANK YOU
Source: Port of Tallinn
“Priority should be given to those proposals that make
best use of the location’s assets and bring greatest
economic benefits” (Fergus Ewing MSP)