This week, the London Container Terminal (LCT) in Tilbury welcomed a new dedicated reefer* container service bringing fresh food directly into the UK from Morocco.

The weekly Samskip service commenced this week when the Samskip Toubkal made its first call at LCT with its cargo of fresh produce, including tomatoes and citrus fruit headed for the UK’s supermarkets.

Samskip’s Moroccan Reefer Service is a weekly shortsea container route connecting Agadir and Casablanca directly with Tilbury and also the Netherlands. The service is the only container service on the market fast enough to carry fresh vegetables and offers an 80% CO₂ reduction compared to road transportation.

Commenting on the new service, Ross McKissock, Director of Unitised from Forth Ports, said: “The arrival of Samskip’s Moroccan service consolidates our prime position in the reefer market for time critical produce for the country’s largest consumer market. Our facilities at LCT on the Thames provides a fast, low carbon, reliable and cost-effective alternative to trucking from Europe, showcasing the major benefits of our specialist deep-sea offering.”

London Container Terminal is a busy facility handling 500,000 teu twenty foot equivalent containers) each year and has over 1,400 reefer points.

*reefer is an industry name for a refrigerated cargo container

Forth Ports is proud to announce that, following an independent review of the commitment that Forth Ports has to learning and development, the group has been awarded Gold accredited membership of The 5% Club. This accolade highlights the company’s strong commitment to early career employees through “earn and learn” initiatives, including apprenticeships, graduate opportunities and sponsored student placements.

The audit, conducted earlier this year, thoroughly assessed the company’s current efforts, future ambitions and commitment to social mobility, diversity and inclusion. Forth Ports takes pride in its ongoing investment to nurture and develop the next generation of talent for the port and logistics industry. Investing in talent is a key part of Forth Ports’ long-term strategy, which also aligns with the broader goals set by both the Scottish and UK Governments.

Currently, Forth Ports has 81 “earn and learn” roles filled within the business with continued growth since the Group was awarded Silver accredited membership of The 5% Club last year.

Stuart Wallace, Chief Executive of Forth Ports, commented on the award: “Achieving Gold accredited membership of The 5% Club is a significant milestone for us, as it reflects our substantial investment in early career opportunities across the group. At Forth Ports, we aim to lead in the development of new talent, as well as developing our entire workforce, and we are proud to be recognised for our efforts. We aim to deliver a learning and development environment that allows every employee to be the best they can be in their role.”

Natalie Dalgleish, Head of Learning & Development of Forth Ports, added: “We’re incredibly proud to have achieved 5% Club Gold status – a recognition of our passion and commitment to developing people at every stage of their career. From those in early and emerging careers to colleagues continually upskilling, this reflects the energy, collaboration, and belief we have in lifelong learning. It’s a celebration of how our collective efforts are helping to close skills gaps and strengthen the future of our business and the wider ports and logistics sector.”

As a proud member of The 5% Club, we join a movement of more than 1,200 forward-thinking employers who are championing inclusive, accessible and impactful workplace learning. Collectively, members support over 2 million employees, with more than 121,000 engaged in “earn and learn” programmes. The rigorous Employer Audit independently validates our achievements and future ambitions, recognising our commitment to social mobility, diversity and inclusion.

The first shipment of XXL monopile foundations* for Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm has arrived in the Port of Leith marking the start of a new phase of offshore construction for the project and a new era for the recently completed Forth Ports’ renewables hub.

The 1.1 gigawatt (GW) Inch Cape will be the first to use the transformed port facility, where the components for all the project’s 72 foundations will be off loaded, marshalled, stored and then loaded out for installation after completion works.

The first eight XXL monopile foundations were transported by a heavy transport vessel which docked at the recently-opened deep water riverside Charles Hammond Berth.

The berth was redeveloped as part of a £150 million investment programme at the 175-acre site, which included £50 million committed on the back of the Inch Cape work, Forth Ports’ largest ever offshore wind contract.

The arrival of the first XXL monopiles, each up to 103 metres long, weighing around 2300 tonnes and with diameters of 11.5 metres, marks the start of an intensive phase of construction for the flagship Scottish project.

John Hill, Project Director of Inch Cape said: “This first monopile delivery into Leith kicks-off a key phase of offshore construction, and we are delighted to be the inaugural project to utilise Forth Ports’ renewables hub. Monopile supplier CWHI has done an outstanding job, fabricating the monopiles on time, within budget and with more than a million hours of safe work.”

The project will comprise 54 XXL monopiles and transition pieces, and 18 three-legged jacket foundations with three pin piles per jacket, all being delivered to Leith prior to installation. As activity ramps up, more than 100 people will work at the site delivering the project, with Forth Projects (part of the Forth Ports Group) as principal contractor.

Derek Knox, Regional Director for Scotland, Forth Ports Limited, said: “The arrival of the first monopiles for Inch Cape is a momentous day for the team in Leith. We have transformed Leith into a world class renewables hub and the Charles Hammond Berth has been created specifically to handle the world’s largest offshore energy vessels.

“It is fantastic to see the berth and laydown land doing what they were built to do. As principal contractor, we have an exciting year ahead of us as our team of experts welcomes the project’s foundation component parts. We have invested in our infrastructure and our marine vessels and created new skilled jobs to deliver this major project. Our sister port in Dundee will also play a key role in 2026 as the turbine pre-assembly and marshalling hub.”

The Charles Hammond Berth features a heavy lift capability of up to 100 tonnes per square metre, with 175 acres of adjacent land for associated renewables logistics, marshalling and manufacturing.

The installation of the XXL monopile foundations will start before the end of the year using the Jan De Nul heavy lift vessel Les Alizés and will continue into 2026.

Inch Cape will comprise 72 Vestas 15MW turbines and a single offshore substation that was installed at the North Sea site in early August. First power is expected in late-2026 with full commercial operations in 2027.

Inch Cape is owned in a 50/50 equal joint venture by ESB and Red Rock Renewables, and once complete will generate almost five terawatt hours of energy each year or enough to power half the homes in Scotland.