A UK port group running Liverpool, the Manchester Ship Canal, the Medway, Clydeport, Heysham and other ports, plus a short-sea container shipping service.
Peel Ports Group runs a network of ports and terminals across the UK and Ireland. Liverpool is its largest, with two container terminals, Liverpool2 and Royal Seaforth. Its other sites include the Manchester Ship Canal, a 36-mile seaway from the Mersey into Manchester, London Medway at Sheerness and Chatham, Heysham on the Lancashire coast, Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, Clydeport in Scotland, Birkenhead and Ellesmere Port, and Dublin. The company says about 70 million tonnes of cargo pass through its ports and terminals each year. It also runs a small shipping business, BG Freight Line, which moves containers between the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.
Peel Ports presents itself as offering import and export solutions with efficient routes to market, working with customers as partners in their growth. Its project-cargo material uses the tagline "More than Ports", and says that safety will always come first and that teams treat each move with the attention they would give to their own. We did not find a formal mission statement or list of company values, so none is claimed. Its health and safety approach is called "The Journey to Zero Harm", and the group has committed to net zero emissions in its ports business by 2040.
The group's head office is the Maritime Centre at the Port of Liverpool. In Scotland it acts as the harbour authority for parts of the River Clyde, including Greenock and Glasgow, and it has invested £25 million in two new ship-to-shore cranes at Greenock. The Medway site covers 450 acres, and Heysham is a gateway to Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. It also supports offshore wind through work at Hunterston and Great Yarmouth. Its heavy-lift services include a 250-tonne floating crane at Liverpool.
On people and culture, the group's annual report says staff are kept informed through briefings, newsletters and an intranet, and through unions. It says an anonymous ethics hotline and regular safety climate surveys exist, and that wellbeing, development, job security and pay are key themes. A national officer of the Unite union sits on its environmental, social and governance board to strengthen engagement on health and safety. A 2022 innovation challenge on sustainability was run with students from the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University. These are the company's own descriptions. The report does not give a headcount in the parts we read.
A multi-port business like this employs marine pilots, harbour and berthing teams, crane and equipment operators, engineers, rail and road logistics planners, customs and shipping-agency staff, health and safety specialists, sustainability and technology teams, and the usual commercial, finance and people functions. Peel Ports also runs a Technology and Automation programme to make port operations more efficient, so digital and data skills are part of the picture alongside practical port work.
Website: www.peelports.com
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