Earlier this month we attended the Offshore Wind North East event in Newcastle organised by NOF. Amongst the 95 exhibitors and 600 delegates, Emily Bulmer, Communications Coordinator and Keith Russell, Business Development Manager, managed our stand for the day, which focused on raising awareness of how we can facilitate offshore projects at both Teesport and Hartlepool.
We were delighted to share the floor with some of our tenants, including Able UK, MPI Offshore/Van Oord and LV Shipping, who we work closely with, and offer services to as Statutory Harbour Authority on the Tees. We also got to meet with potential business partners to share our message as recognised innovators within the offshore wind supply chain.
Group Business Development Director, Geoff Lippitt was selected to attend a panel that focused directly on North East ports, their challenges and opportunities to develop infrastructure for offshore wind projects. Key representatives from ports across the region such as Blyth, Sunderland, Port of Tyne, Able Seaton Port and Energy Central also joined the discussion.
The audience, made up of representatives from organisations such as LV Shipping, Clarksons Port Services and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, listed as the panel examined key topics including the challenges UK ports face, skills gaps and ‘Smart Ports’.
Discussing the importance of an offshore wind cluster, Geoff said: “One of the biggest things that is important to sustain the cluster is making sure we have the skills base that sits behind it.
“As long as we have an efficient means to help our customers with their whole supply chains then we have great opportunities for offshore projects.”
Our sites are close to some of the world’s largest proposed and active projects, and our Hartlepool base possesses lock-free access to the North Sea. Along with our Teesport site, they are unlocking powerful collaborative potential between energy providers, world-class manufacturers and industry-leading suppliers. Situated amongst a hub of offshore activity on the River Tees, they offer direct access to the UK’s offshore wind market.
As an Energi Coast company, PD Ports is an avid supporter of NOF’s mission and shares the belief that we should continue to showcase and promote the region as a key hub for servicing the offshore wind market as well as promote and take advantage of the area’s rich expertise.
At PD Ports we feel it is vital to promote the region’s abilities in the rapidly expanding market of offshore wind to help encourage success across the area. It’s also important to the industry and helps to elevate our profile as a region, demonstrating that our robust infrastructure and geography makes us just as, if not more, capable of complementing any offshore project than elsewhere in the UK and EU.
We feel it is beneficial for any business that has something to offer the offshore sector to attend this and similar events, whether they be engineers who manufacture component parts, ports who can help to support and facilitate offshore projects, or offshore entities themselves.
This was a well-managed event, which generated some real value and we are already looking forward to next year!
