Port Millom has a long history as a working facility, being used as transport hub, a materials storage and handling centre, and a ship-breaking company. Its location and the size of its storage capacity, made Port Millom the ideal choice from which to export large volumes of high quality roadstone aggregate by sea from nearby Ghyll Scaur Quarry, using barges which varied between 800 and 1500 Tonnes - although the port is able to service barges of much greater tonnage.
The large level, open quayside is well suited to the loading and unloading of bulk cargoes including, construction materials such as aggregate, steel and timber. In particular, scour protection, used to both stabilise the sea bed beneath offshore turbines and to protect the sub-sea base of the structure, can be readily sourced from the quarries of West Cumbria, and shipped out to the construction site via Port Millom.
With the upsurge in wind power schemes along the west coast of Cumbria, both inland and offshore, Port Millom is looking to expand business, developing as a centre for transport and storage operations and maintenance facilities, serving a number of these projects.
Langthwaite Wind Farm is a proposed scheme to construct six turbines in a new wind farm, capable of generating on average over 28 million units of electricity per year, estimated to meet the annual needs of 6,500 homes.
HMP Haverigg Wind Project will construct five wind turbines of 2.3 MW output, adjacent to the existing wind farm, again producing electricity to meet the needs of some 6,500 households.
Port Millom is currently in discussions with the developers of both these schemes with a view to entering into contracts to provide quayside facilities including transportation and storage of construction materials. With a road distances of only 2.5 miles and 4 miles to the sites of these proposed wind farms, Port Millom offers an unrivalled location in terms of both simplifying logistics and the potential saving in transportation costs.
Sustainability is not only a watchword for many construction projects, it has become a contractual requirement. Water transportation is a highly effective method of helping to achieve sustainability goals.
DfT Grant funding to transport freight by water
For information regarding Port Millom as a ship-breaking facility please click here
Port of Millom, Borwick Rails, Millom, Cumbria, LA18 4JU 01229 771788
Content © Port of Millom 2012