Membership

The BPA in Scotland

We have a strong network of members from all parts of Scotland and the industry has evolved to meet the needs of the indutry. A list of our Scottish members can be found here and a map showing the geographical spread of BPA’s membership around Scotland can be found here.

The dense network of ports in Scotland is crucial to both the Scottish and UK economies. It has a unique role, not only providing a base for trade and employment, but in linking communities. Scottish ports are major players in supply chains crucial to the Scottish economy.

A range of members

The arrival of the offshore oil and gas industry in the mid 1960s helped transform Aberdeen Harbour it into one of Scotland’s most recognised ports and one of the most dynamic harbours in Europe.

As well as these larger ports Scotland’s economy is supported by a number of regionally important ports. Montrose and Perth on the east coast all handle a wide range of bulk cargoes. Paper, forest products, aggregates, grain, scrap metal, animal feed, malting barley, fertiliser and oil related products. It also handles most of the pulp imported into Scotland.

The exploration North Sea oil and gas reserves have also enabled many ports on the north and eastern coasts to support the offshore industry. The ports at Invergordon and Inverness have flourished providing a servicing support for oil rigs and vessels. On the Orkney Isles the oil handling facilities at Scapa Flow and the Flotta Oil Terminal have grown significantly in recent times.

The growth of the supply services at Aberdeen has encouraged the shift of the Scotland’s fishing industry northwards. The ports of Peterhead and Fraserburgh on the North East coast are the UK’s two leading fishing ports and of national importance. The combined value of fishing landings at both ports makes up almost a third of the UK’s total catch. Peterhead is the UK’s busiest fishing port and Fraserburgh harbour lands the most prawns/nethrops anywhere in Britain. Both have recently invested in modernising their market facilities. Further north Lerwick in the Shetland Islands is another port that handles significant levels of fish.

Ro-Ro ferry services are also of significant economic importance. Ships from the ferry terminals at Stranraer and Cairnryan regularly sail to Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland, providing a valuable freight and passenger link. As well as these links the importance of the network of domestic ferry services across the whole of Scotland should not be under estimated. The CalMac Ferries network operates 28 routes serving 24 islands and linking four peninsulas between the Clyde and Hebrides. Northlink Ferries has services between Orkney and Shetland, and the mainland. The harbours at Mallaig, Ullapool, Scrabster and Stornoway have become important regional hubs for communities and businesses in the western and northern parts of Scotland.

The leisure yachting market is thriving in Scotland. The scenic west coast is home to a number of smaller ports with marinas. Tarbert (Loch Fyne) 100 resident leisure boats in Tarbert and welcomes many more visiting boats each year. The income from visiting and resident boats generates revenue to run the Harbour and the local shops, pubs and restaurants all receive a boost to their business from the additional visitors.

Further up the west coast is the Glensanda quarrying site near Oban in Argyll. The “superquarry” which is one of the largest in Europe has its own harbour and ships out more than seven million tonnes of aggregate to various destinations all over the world.