The SeAH Wind factory on Teesworks’ South Bank site lost two contracts this year. That’s bad enough, but the neighbouring South Bank Quay, also known as Steel River Quay, is highly dependent on the factory too.
Lost business
In February, I reported that SeAH Wind had lost its inaugural contract to supply monopiles (bases) for the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm project. Then, two months later, another blow, when RWE cancelled SeAH’s next contract, to make monopiles for the Vanguard West project, as reported here. As things stand, SeAH is still contracted to build for the Vanguard East project, assuming that it can produce monopiles to an acceptable standard. I reported on SeAH’s current financial predicament in June 2026. You can read that report here.
Offshore base
But the success, or otherwise, of SeAH Wind is closely tied to that of the neighbouring South Bank Quay, which is used as an offshore base for wind farm construction.
What is South Bank Quay?
South Bank Quay (SBQ), is a 450 metre-long deep-water quay located on the south bank of the River Tees, about a kilometre upstream of Tees Dock, the largest facility operated by PD Ports. SBQ forms part of the Teesworks project, although its ownership is complicated. More on this later. The Teesworks website boasts of a 1000-metre quay, but this information is incorrect.
Coming up short
The company had ambitions to build a 1000-metre quay, but the funding was only ever going to be in place for one less than half of that length, and this is all we’re going to get.
History
SBQ was the first project to be given a loan by the National Infrastructure Bank, now known as the National Wealth Fund. The loan, of £107mn, was made to the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) in October 2021. A later press release from Teesworks Ltd indicated that the amount of the loan had been increased to £112mn. The TVCA on-lent the cash to the South Tees Development Corporation (STDC) to enable the STDC to build the quay. Shortly after construction commenced, the STDC sold the project to Teesworks Ltd for £13.56 plus VAT. You can read more about that outrageous deal, courtesy of the excellent Private Eye “Stripped Tees” Special Report, here.
Nice little earner
Teesworks Quay Ltd, a separate company to Teesworks Ltd, earns fees from port users such as SeAH and pays a “tonnage fee” to STDC based on the business going over the quay. STDC then uses the tonnage fee income to service and repay the loan from the National Wealth Fund. But, crucially, Teesworks Quay Ltd pays the tonnage fee, up to a maximum of £4mn per year, only if it has sufficient profits. And these profits are after it has paid fees for sub-contracting the running of the quay to another company, called Steel River Quay Ltd, which then further sub-contracts operations to ASCO, who actually run the operation.
Why is it always so complicated?
Despite holding the concession to run the quay, Teesworks Quay Ltd became dormant shortly after being awarded this concession in 2022. Steel River Quay Limited remains operational however. The company is owned by the “Joint Venture Partners”, Chris Musgrave and Martin Corney. However, the JV partners resigned as directors on 1 April 2026, handing over to Alexander Cameron, the Managing Director, and James Riley, the Finance Director.
Sharing the load
SBQ’s primary role is to act as an Offshore Base (OSB) for wind farm projects. Because SeAH Wind had initially been selected by Ørsted to build monopiles for the Hornsea 3 project, the quay was selected as one of three OSB’s The other two OSB’s are Port of Tyne, which handles secondary steel components, and Grimsby, which will be responsible for ongoing repair and maintenance of the wind farm.
You’ve come a long way
However, because manufacturing for Hornsea 3 will no longer take place at the neighbouring SeAH factory, all of the monopiles are having to be brought in from elsewhere in the world. Haizea is building its units in Spain. Steelwind and EEW Group both make their monopiles in Germany. Dajin Offshore is based in China.
After being imported from these four sites, monopiles will be temporarily stored at SBQ, then shipped out to Hornsea 3 for assembly in the North Sea. 197 monopiles will be installed. It’s another long journey. The wind farm is 75 miles off the Norfolk coast.
Where are all of these places?
The map below shows the four OSBs and the three wind farms mentioned in this article. There are several other OSBs and wind farms in the North Sea area, but these have been omitted for clarity.
The build-out commences
The first six monopiles were imported to SBQ from Haizea’s Spain factory in February 2026. After a few month’s storage, these were taken out to Hornsea 3, and installed, on 14 May 2026. The remainder should be in place by the beginning of 2027. When operational, the wind farm will be capable of generating up to 2.9 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power more than three million homes.
But what then?
As previously reported, SeAH wind won’t be building any monopiles for the Vanguard West project. As things stand, it will build some for Vanguard East, but that’s at least a year away. Also, SBQ hasn’t been selected as the OSB for either of the Vanguard projects. The contracts for both Vanguard jobs have been awarded to the Associated British Port (ABP) facility at Lowestoft. Each of the two Vanguard projects will have a capacity of 1.4 gigawatts. A third project, Norfolk Boreas, is on hold. On 23 June 2026, Haizea confirmed that it had started building monopiles for Vanguard West at its facility in Bilbao.
That leaves a gap
So, as soon as SBQ has sent its last monopiles to Hornsea 3 at the start of 2027, there’ll be a long pause in activity until SeAH Wind starts building monopiles for Vanguard East. There’s still the caveat that RWE may not accept SeAH’s work. But, assuming it does, SBQ will then start sending batches of monopiles down to ABP’s OSB at Lowestoft. So, 2027 is set to be a lean year for SBQ.
The competition is fierce
SBQ hasn’t won any work apart from the OSB work. It’s a deep-water quay, which is a valuable asset, but it’s up against stiff competition from several similar neighbouring facilities. PD Ports’ Tees Dock, just downriver, handles shipping containers, and also houses a purpose-built facility to export polyhalite from Boulby Mine. The Redcar Bulk Terminal (RBT) imports dry bulk commodities, using massive gantry cranes inherited from British Steel. In addition, PD Ports has recently upgraded the RBT to handle traffic related to the construction of the nearby Net Zero Teesside project.
Port of Middlesbrough
Meanwhile, upriver, the Port of Middlesbrough is upgrading its infrastructure by building another dry bulk facility. The port also handles rock salt from Boulby Mine, and steel for Nissan.
All this, and Hartlepool too
Just over the other side of the Tees, PD Ports operates the versatile Port of Hartlepool. The company is investing there too, improving its cranage offer. Here’s an overview of port facilities in the area:
Everything is Fine
In his update to the 30 July 2026 STDC Board meeting, Chief Executive Officer John Barnes notes that “Operational activity at South Bank Quay continues to strengthen. The quay is now supporting live offshore wind-related operations, including cargo handling, storage and export activity.” But an excerpt from papers for the following day’s TVCA Cabinet meeting, on 31 July 2026, paints a different picture. The TVCA has obtained independent financial modelling advice from its treasury advisers (Arlingclose). The table below shows the proposed repayment schedule for the SBQ loan:
Going backwards
The table tells us that the balance of the SBQ loan, as at 2027, will be £112mn. This is the original amount of the loan. There will have been no repayments, of either principal or interest, since the loan was advanced in 2021. Incredibly, by 2054, the outstanding balance of the SBQ loan is still expected to be almost £61mn. According to the Local Government Association, the loan has a repayment period of 50 years, so the STDC has until 2071 to repay it.
But it may take longer than that
The independent Tees Valley Review found that the SBQ loan agreement expressly allows the repayment profile to be modified, and the repayment period to be extended, depending on the quay’s operational performance. The quay needs to generate income of £3.2mn per annum to service the debt. The income in 2025/26 was £197,000. The STDC is entitled to retain 50% of the business rates from SBQ, but that income stream will expire in 2045, well before the loan does. Meanwhile, SeAH Wind, the chief source of revenue for SBQ, hasn’t announced any new contracts since the Vanguard deal in December 2023. Half of that contract has subsequently been lost. This is going to be a long haul.
Thanks to James Waterson for providing additional research for this article.
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