Under consideration PE2029: Nationalise Clydeport to bring the ports and harbours on the river Clyde into public ownership
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to:
use powers under the Harbours Act 1964 and the Marine Navigation Act 2013 to revoke the Peel Ports Group, (Clydeport Operations Limited)’s, status as the Harbour Authority for the river Clyde and its estuary;
establish a municipal port authority in Clydeport’s place and bring the strategic network of ports and harbours along the river Clyde into public ownership; and
compulsorily purchase Inchgreen Dry Dock for the benefit of the Inverclyde community.
Previous action taken
I have raised the issue with Katy Clark MSP, who has called on the Scottish Government to progress the Ardossan Harbour upgrade delayed by Peel Ports intransigence. She has also lodged a motion calling for Ardrossan Harbour to be taken into public ownership, and called for a ministerial task force to look at the Hunterston Port development.
As Inchgreen Campaign secretary, I have written to Scottish Ministers regarding Peel Ports ownership of the dry dock and its impact on Inverclyde.
Background information
The Peel Ports Group owns Clydeport, which operates as the harbour authority for 450 square miles along the River Clyde. They have anchorages near residential areas and continually fail to engage with communities.
Clydeport admitted to safety breaches taking place between 2000 and 2007, for which they were fined £650,000 in 2014. Further safety concerns were raised when two ships broke away from their moorings in 2021.
In 2021, Peel Ports leased the UK’s largest dry dock, Inchgreen, to Atlas Decommissioning, and promised the creation of 100 jobs that have failed to materialise. The dry dock has lain empty for 20 years with many broken promises to maintain and return it to a fully operational marine facility.
Peel Ports receive hundreds of millions in grants; their parent companies are registered in the Cayman Islands tax haven. Inverclyde needs jobs and the dry dock could provide them, but Peel Ports have a stranglehold on our industrial development!
1,508 signatures
This petition is now under consideration
Click here for further information about the consideration of this petition.