Team moves on site for major upgrade of Scottish port

Marine and land investigations are underway to inform proposals for a major upgrade of a port in the Highlands of Scotland. 

Kishorn Port Limited (KPL) has engaged specialist contractors for Phase One of the multi-million-pound project at Kishorn Port in Wester Ross.  

Wallace Stone marine consulting engineers, Red7Marine, and marine drilling equipment provider, Causeway Geotech, have been commissioned for a six- to eight-week drilling programme.  

It involves a Haven Seariser 2 jack-up barge and two Eijelkamp Fraste drilling rigs. 

The works will provide information on ground and soil conditions on land and below water to inform further development at the site. 

It comes after KPL secured a £500,000 investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). 

HIE funding will contribute towards the design and tender costs, including: 

• project management 
• environmental consultancy 
• marine engineering studies  
• ground and seabed investigations 

KPL is a joint venture between Leiths (Scotland) Ltd and Ferguson Freight Holdings Ltd, both of which have operations at Kishorn.  

The facility serves the offshore renewables and oil and gas industries and includes a 160-metre dry dock, on-site quarry and land for development. 

“The outcome of these works will give us the certainty we need in relation to the ground conditions on land and on the seabed to work up the design of the new pier structures,” said Alasdair Ferguson, KPL director.  

“It will also tell us what we need to know about the load-bearing capacity of further reclamation of the foreshore at the port for lay down, storage, and for the handling of large subsea structures.  

“All of this is about further enhancing Kishorn’s capacity to handle major contracts in offshore renewables, oil and gas decommissioning and aquaculture and future proofing the port for decades to come.” 

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