Able Seaton Port

Able Seaton Port (ASP) which is the former Laing’s Offshore Yard was acquired in 1996 and since that time ABLE has developed new marine and terrestrial facilities on the site including the Teesside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre (TERRC)

Location	Hartlepool, Seaton Channel, River Tees, 1 km from Tees Turning Circle- Teesside
Size	51 Hectares (126 acres)
Facilities	Fully licensed with all permissions for fabrication, decommissioning and ship breaking 9.33 Hectares (24 acres) dry dock/wet basin (largest in Europe) 125m gate, 355m long x 260m wide Wide variety of Quays Quays 10 & 11 (306m) have a dredged box of 9.5m (permissions to increase to 15m); load capacity 38t/m² and a 75t/m² load out pad Channel Dredged to -6.5mCD (Tidal Range 5.6m) – permission to dredge to 9.5m providing 15m of water No navigational Restrictions 24/7 Working Excellent Infrastructure. Electrical Supply – 7.0 MVA. Water Supply – 250mm dia. Main. Foul Sewer suitable for 2,000 persons Fabrication Hall – 64m x 26m x 21m (Eaves) 1,664 sq m(17,900 sq ft) Halls 1 & 2 – 40m x 25m x 11m 1,000 sq m(10,700 sq ft) Workshop – 78m x 15m x 11m 1,170 sqm(12,600 sq ft) Plus (refurbished Topside) Circa 3,700 sq m(40,000 sq ft) Office/Welfare 24 hour security, floodlights, CCTV Hardstanding - 41 hectares (101 acres)
Uses	Aggregate import and distribution All permissions and licences for all envisaged industrial and marine activities Decommissioning offshore and marine structures Liquid waste processing and transfer LSA contaminated materials - receival, processing and disposal Multi user facility - fabrication/construction/civil and industrial specials - eg tunnel sections, PARs/PAUs, etc Offshore Construction Reclamation and Recycling Centre Rock armour Scrap Export Ship Breaking/Recycling Ship Repair Solid waste processing and transfer
Access	River/sea, rail, road - 5 miles (8 km) to A19
Airport	Durham Tees Valley - 19 miles (30 km) Newcastle International - 46 miles (74 km).

Through an ongoing investment programme – circa £50m to date – Able has established a facility of strategic national significance which in turn has generated a significant return in terms of economic activity, wealth and job creation.

The site measures 51ha (126 acres), features the world’s largest dry dock (10ha – 25 acres) and an extended deep water quay. It has a clear sea access with no air restrictions and a 120m wide approach channel currently dredged to -4.6mCD An extant planning consent permits the approach channel to be dredged to -9.5mCD.

Following on from this investment, and through considerable effort (and persistence), Able UK Limited has secured major contracts in the field of marine structure decommissioning and recycling. Able have been actively engaged with two projects that are breaking new ground as the largest so far undertaken in Europe.

The BP West Hutton Oil Platform (both Topside and Jacket) was the largest thus far removed from the North Sea and has not only saw the creation of a further 70 jobs but also confirmed our pre-eminent position in this growing market. Indeed the heavy load out quays (which have potential for use far beyond this particular task) enable us to be ideally placed to capture a significant proportion of this growing market opportunity. Shorter term projections of this market are notoriously unreliable and activity is naturally inextricably linked to the price of oil. Nevertheless RBS are currently estimating that by 2030 some 450 structures will have been decommissioned at a total cost in excess of £15 billion.

We have also created – through the re-commissioning of the world’s largest dry dock – a facility that has strong claims to be the market leader in providing the Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) in ship recycling. The contract to re-cycle the former French aircraft carrier, Le Clemenceau, is the largest individual project of its type in Europe and – along with the four so-called ghost ships of the US Merchant Fleet and three other UK vessels – has seen the creation of circa 250 new jobs (at the height of the current financial crisis). Furthermore our own Government has acknowledged that the facility and dismantling methods represent the industry’s best practice and this was further acknowledged by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) at their Hong Kong conference in May 2009.

The world market for ship re-cycling is enormous and extends beyond our own capacity. In providing BPEO, it remains both our intention and expectation to be fully occupied for the foreseeable future and to continue at the current significant levels of both employment and (ultimately) profitability.

In addition to the above ASP has also been developed as a site for both existing and anticipated port related activity and as a base for prospective tenants engaged in a number of pursuits including offshore related construction and the burgeoning renewable energy sector(s).

Four new buildings have been developed and we have almost 5,000m² (54,000ft²) of new high quality industrial space and, through the re-furbished Living Quarters of the North West Hutton, up to 3,700m² (40,000ft²) of Office/Welfare accommodation.

Over the last year we have secured a number of new contracts with ENSCO, Europe’s largest fleet operator of jack-up rigs. The rigs are received at ASP and undergo a variety of maintenance operations benefitting both ourselves and companies within the local supply chain. To date five ENSCO rigs have been received and ASP has been selected as their preferred location. In addition, Transocean have also ‘stacked’ their Britannia rig at ASP.

Able Seaton Port Dry Dock

Able Seaton Port has what is probably the largest Dry Docking area available in the World - it is located on the River Tees, in the North East of England.

The facility is suitable for a wide range of activities including:

• Construction of jackets and gravity based structures for offshore oil and gas activities
• Construction of circa 100 gravity based foundations for the offshore wind sector
• Ship/Vessel building/repair/maintenance
• Oil Rig (Jack-Up and Semi-Sub) building/repair/maintenance

The facility can accommodate:

• It can receive both of the UK’s current new build aircraft carriers
• It can receive two of the World’s largest heavy lift vessels
• It can receive x no submarines at the same time
• Multiple vessels for recycling.

Location:

• 54°38’00” North 1°11’28.73” West
• On the Seaton Channel - a branch off the River Tees, Teesside, United Kingdom
• 1 nautical mile from the Tees Turning Circle (500m diameter, -14m LAT) and 4.5 nautical miles from the River Tees Fairway Buoy
• Distance from open sea: 2 nautical miles

Dimensions:

• Dry Dock Entrance: 125m
• Area: 10 hectares (100,000m2); 25 acres
• Maximum water depth of water over the cill – 12.6m CD
• Dry Dock Depth – 12.15m CD
• Maximum width of Dry Dock: 260m
• Length of Dry Dock: 355m (can be increased to 450m)

Marine Data:

• There are no air draft restrictions from ASP to the North Sea.
• ASP is only 2 nautical miles from open sea.
• Seaton Channel 120m dredged channel width (0.65 nautical miles long) is currently dredged to -6m CD but can be increased to -9.5m CD if required  (approvals and permissions are in place).
• Mean High Water Spring is 5.5m.
• Mean Low Water Spring MLWS is 0.9m CD,
• The tidal range is 4.6m between MHWS and MLWS.
• Maximum channel water depth at MHWS 15.0m.
• Minimum channel water depth at MLWS 10.4 m.
• Maximum water depth at Quays 10 and 11 at MHWS is 20m.
• Minimum channel water depth at MLWS is 15.m
• Current (Channel) = 0.25 knots (0.13m/second)
• Visibility for divers is 2m+.
• Dry Dock Holding Basin: 290m x 200m at -9.5m CD.