When: 20 March, 2020. In 2007, Highland Council approved ambitious plans for a 1950 home development, along with a marina, hotel, visitor centre and community facilities including a primary school, but more more recently the authority also backed its potential as a site for renewables-related development as part of the Scottish Governments national renewables infrastructure plan. Detailed view from SE along SW side of Pipe Mill buildings. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. The partners will recycle dredged sand as aggregate for concrete production, recycle steel from decommissioned oil rigs as reinforcement for concrete floating wind foundations and generate energy from waste. In the past, the journalists job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. The company has plans to use it for a range of purposes, including developing platforms for offshore wind turbines and decommissioning North Sea rigs. With 138 hectares (340 acres) of vacant land and a deep water quay, the purpose-built yard, located on the Moray Firth, 15 miles east of Inverness , is ideally placed to take a slice of the . Energy Voice 2023. At its height the yard employed about 4,500 people, but it closed in 2001 as demand dropped. View from SE along foundations of travelling crane in area of former stockyard, with Pipe Mill buildings in background. Theyre telling me that they wont be short-term contracts, theyll be full-time contracts. Based in Brailsford, Derbyshire, the CWC Group was founded in 1964 by Charles Clowes, who went on to feature regularly in a London newspapers list of Britains richest people. Gordon Arthur, director at Clowes Developments, commented: "We are delighted to complete the deal which will no doubt see the site prosper within the renewable energy market. Everything will be re-used. Interior. View from SE at approach to main entrance, with Pipe Mill buildings beyond, and 'Whiteness' sign in the foreground, the name of the Company who were about to re-develop the site. Click here to sign up to our free newsletters. Ardersier's long dormant fabrication yard is set to take on a new life as one of Europe's most important locations for renewable energy and decommissioning, according to its new owners. Tank at the former Barmac Oil Fabrication Yard. This photograph D922/3/2/2, is from the. Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, Everything Everywhere wins big ahead of Oscars, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, PM to end asylum claims from small boat arrivals, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Mbappe breaks PSG goal record in win over Nantes. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. CWC Group now lists the. This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Do you know this baby? J. Ray McDermott announced the closure of Ardersier Fabrication yard in 2002, following almost 30 years of activity at the site. New Orleans, La., announced that its McDermott Scotland Division has been subcontracted by Taywood-Santa Fe Ltd. for a sum in excess of 10 million pounds sterling (approximately $23 million) to. The company behind the proposals, Port of Ardersier Ltd, had already secured planning permission in principle from the Highland Council earlier this year. The event was held on 21 June 2018 at the Ardersier War Memorial Hall. View along SW side of building to SE side of Deck Assembly building (possibly Paint Shop). The Ardersier yard, like its near neighbour, Nigg on the Cromarty, Firth, has had to contend with predictions from some analysts that there. Energy Voice 2023. Grantown on Spey, Scotland Structural Draftsman . CWC Group now lists the 700 acre site, near Nairn, among its nationwide portfolio of 118 properties, but the companys plans for the land are not yet known. Business partners Tony O'Sullivan and Steve Regan have acquired the former McDermott fabrication site from Clowes Developments for an undisclosed sum. heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment. ), adajacent to former Slipways. An aerial view of previous plans for the Port of Ardersier site. In the 1970s Ardersier - a vast and currently unused port 14 miles east of Inverness - was one of the largest oil rig fabrication yards in the world, employing up to 4500 workers. We are doing this to improve the experience forour loyalreaders and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. There has been widespread speculation over the future of the site since it went on the market earlier this year after its previous owners, Port of Ardersier, went into administration. Before going into administration, Port of Ardersier Ltd secured full consent from the Scottish government to bring the site back into use. . Articles by Jeremy Cresswell on Muck Rack. Interior view from SE along Plate-prefabrication area at SW side of Deck Assembly building, Ardersier oil rig construction yard. The potential of this site, if put into productive use, is enormous and if that potential is realised, there is a clear prospect of the creation of a substantial numbers of jobs.. Based in Brailsford, Derbyshire, the CWC Group was founded in 1964 by Charles Clowes, who went on to feature regularly in the Sunday Times Rich List of Britains richest people. General view from NE of former NE spoolbase storage racks. 2023- Highland News and Media Ltd. All rights reserved. Management at Ardersier have so far refused to comment beyond saying, they are hopeful of work coming to the yard in the near future, and a, spokesman for Elf Enterprise said that no decision has yet been made on, the award of the sub-contract, although he confirmed that MacDermotts is, one of the bidders for the work. View from E of sub-station and water treatment facilities on SW side of the yard. Today Steve and I will start to reinvent the wheel.". It includes more than 400 acres and more than a kilometre of quayside but has been disused for many years. The former McDermott fabrication yard at Ardersier is under new ownership. 2023 BBC. Thats a huge ambition and Im all in favour of it.. Senior Highland councillor Jimmy Gray, a union leader who worked at the yard as a welder between 1975 and 2000, is optimistic the fresh investment will result in Scotland getting a bigger slice of the renewables cake in terms of jobs and financial return. The site is the former McDermott Fabrication Yard located approximately 7.5km to the west of Nairn, 18km northeast of Inverness and 3km northeast of Ardersier. 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The former owners had hoped to turn the yard, originally built to fabricate massive steel jackets for North Sea oil platforms, into a manufacturing super-hub for offshore wind. The potential of this site, if put into productive use, is enormous and if that potential is realised, there is a clear prospect of the creation of substantial numbers of jobs.. The plans include a floating wind manufacturing hub for concrete foundations. View from SSE of Main Offices, close to main entrance at SE end of yard. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Business partners Tony OSullivan and Steve Regan have acquired the former McDermott fabrication site from Clowes Developments for an undisclosed sum. Around two and a half thousand workers were paid off last, spring as work in the yard ran down, and there have been frequent, rumours that the yard's owners, US-based MacDermotts, was ready to pull, Now it has emerged that the yard is in the final stages of being, awarded a relatively small sub-contract for piling work for the Claymore, field, 110 miles north-east of Aberdeen, which is being developed by Elf, Enterprise. View from W within Pipe Mill building, showing pit exposed by removal of large-scale plant. Scottish Charity No. Ardersier's dormant fabrication yard is set to take on a new life as one of Europe's most important locations for renewable energy and decommissioning, according to its new owners. View from E of Maintenance Shop (? We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. General oblique aerial view of Ardersier, looking to the SW. Courtesy of HES (G D B Jones Collection). Oblique aerial view, looking NE over the Moray Firth and Ardersier fabrication site and Whiteness point. View of Office building to W of Deck Assembly building. Ardersier Port was opened by US engineering group McDermott in 1972, at its height the fabrication yard employed as many as 4,500 staff at its peak, making it the largest private sector employer in the Highlands. At over 400 acres (162ha) and with more than a kilometre of quayside, Ardersier is the largest brownfield port in the UK. General view from NW of area of former slipways, with Deck Assembly building beyond. If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to View from SE along open (NE) side of deck Assembly building. Skip to main content. The consortium behind Port of Ardersier say that the new facility would be able to support around 2,500 jobs. The site at Whiteness Head on the Moray Firth, west of Nairn, is the former McDermott Yard which opened in the early 1970s for the fabrication and construction of offshore platforms for use in the North Sea gas and oil industry. Site NameArdersier, Oil Rig Construction Yard, ClassificationPlatform Fabrication Yard (Modern), Permalinkhttp://canmore.org.uk/site/75252. To let everyone remember the good old days where a few thousand were employed. At over 400 acres (162ha) and with more than a kilometre of quayside, Ardersier is the largest brownfield port in the UK. CWC Group now lists the 700-acre site, near Nairn, among its nationwide portfolio of 118 properties, but the companys plans for the land are not yet known. Papers of James Sloan Bone, landscape historian, Inverness, Highland, Scotland, Courtesy of HES (James S Bone Collection). View from N towards Paint Store on SW edge of yard. Worked on various projects at Nigg and Ardersier Fabrication yards in Scotland, Terra Nova FPSO Project in St John's Newfoundland Canada, Barracuda and Carratinga FPSO's in Rio de Janeiro and was seconded Agip in Dubai UAE on Kashagan project Mike #McDermott employees and families rolled up their sleeves to clean 10 . General view from NW within Pipe Mill building, showing pit exposed by removal of large-scale plant. General view along access road, with Moray Firth and Black Isle beyond. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. This site uses cookies. The Scottish Government granted permission for the scheme to go ahead. However, a fall in demand finally led to the facility's closure in 2001. New town and marina proposed for former oil yard, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, Everything Everywhere wins big ahead of Oscars, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, PM to end asylum claims from small boat arrivals, Mbappe breaks PSG goal record in win over Nantes, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, From Afghan TV fame to a US factory floor. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 2023- Highland News and Media Ltd. All rights reserved. Ardersier Port has been sold to new owners who have ambitious plans for its future. It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse. Ardersier Port, near Inverness, could become a hub for manufacturing offshore wind turbine parts. The project is a joint initiative by Ardersier Ports joint owners, Mr Regan and Tony OSullivan, and floating wind specialists BW Ideol. The site has been bought for just over 5m, according to a document from KPMG, the administrator for the . Ardersier's dormant fabrication yard is set to take on a new life as one of Europe's most important locations for renewable energy and decommissioning, according to its new owners. THE oil fabrication yard at Ardersier on the Moray Firth could be about to re-open, after being on a care and maintenance basis since April, 1993. Tags. It's not totally accurate, and can sometimes assign images to odd clusters. Although completed on Friday, July 8, news of the sale was greeted with surprise in the Highlands this week. 1974 Developers are seeking the go ahead to turn a former oil fabrication yard in the Highlands into a manufacturing "super-hub" for renewables . Read about our approach to external linking. Read about our approach to external linking. Don't miss the latest headlines with our twice-daily newsletter - sign up here for free. This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. Historic ocean treaty agreed after decade of talks, China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces. Detail of project notice board within Deck Assembly building. Local Highland councillor Trish Robertson said: Its badly needed. Please Login or Register now. I am a highly motivated individual possessing a wide range of experience in all facets of engineering, operations and project management; particularly managing large scale fabrication facilities. Oblique aerial view of the Ardersier oil rig construction yard, taken from the SW. Aerial view of Fort George and Ardersier, E of Inverness, looking NE. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. View from NW along foundation of Pipe Handling area with Fabrication Shops and Pipe Mill buildings beyond. Planning permission in principle remains live from 2014 to establish a port for the energy industry, as well as previously approved planning consent to build 2,000 houses, a hotel, 500-berth marina and retail an leisure facilities. Ardersier is the largest port brownfield site in the UK Situated at Whiteness on the Moray Firth coast, near the village of Ardersier, the brownfield site sprawls across 400 acres (162ha) and. View from SE within Deck Assembly building. Plans to turn a former oil fabrication yard in Scottish Ardersier into a manufacturing 'super-hub' for offshore wind have faced their first hurdle. PICTURES: Cornhill Highland Games and rugby club celebrate Robert Burns