Boost For Lowestofts Port

The Port of Lowestoft is aiming to become a leading marine base for the North Sea wind power energy sector.

The Port of Lowestoft is aiming to become a leading marine base for the North Sea wind power energy sector. Associated British Ports (ABP) has revealed the 5 year plans to upgrade the outer harbour and state of the art port infrastructure...in an effort to support the next generation of offshore wind support vessels. Over the next five years, ABP will develop the Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility (LEEF), which will bring significant upgrades to marine facilities at Lowestoft’s Outer Harbour, creating key capabilities to support the UK’s journey towards achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The project will deliver state-of-the-art port infrastructure to meet the offshore energy industry’s current and future demands, ensuring the port can accommodate the next generation of offshore support vessels. The facility will provide a site that is suitable for Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activities in addition to quayside suitable for construction support activities. Andy Reay, ABP Group Head of Commercial (Offshore Wind), said: “ABP is the number one host of O&M bases in the UK, providing infrastructure for operations and maintenance facilities to support offshore wind farms in Barrow, Grimsby and Lowestoft. “Our LEEF project represents an exciting step change in our ability to service customers in the growing Southern North Sea energy sector. It will re-engineer existing quayside in the Outer Harbour and create the modern infrastructure needed to support a rapidly changing energy industry in a growing regional economy.” Centred around the Outer Harbour at the Port of Lowestoft, LEEF is a major opportunity, the first phase of which will require around £25m of investment. When complete, the project will provide 360m of berthing space for simultaneous use by three SOVs and deliver up to 8 acres of flexible storage and marshalling area. In addition, it will create around 5,000 sqft of new office space with direct quayside access. Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney, commented: “Lowestoft is strategically well placed to benefit from the wide range of opportunities available in the Southern North Sea, which include one of the largest clusters of offshore wind farms in the world, rich fishing grounds and gas fields in which to store carbon. “The Masterplan provides a framework for investment in Lowestoft Port that will attract business to the town, providing jobs for local people. I look forward to working with ABP in turning this vision in to reality.” More details and a video about the Lowestoft Port masterlan, can be found here: https://vision.abpmer.net/lowestoft-masterplan/