In February, we had members of Ardersier Port in our Marine Simulation Centre, emulating future marine transport projects in the port. This is a recently opened port facility on the Moray Forth, outside of Inverness, on the site of the old McDermott fabrication yard which closed in 2001.

Earlier in 2026, the Haventus-owned port welcomed its first vessels, following a 3-year project with South Shields Marine School’s simulation department simulating the whole development, from scaling the dimensions of potential maritime traffic to determining the width and depth for the navigation buoys.

The creation of the port saw 6 million tonnes of sand dredged to create a 160 metre wide channel. The 450 acre site has been described as the largest brownfield port in the UK with the capability for large scale manufacturing and assembly, as well as the deployment of offshore wind installations to the North Sea.

The work Ardersier Port, Targe Towage and Class 1 Maritime Pilots completed with us this week included bespoke modelling of the Ardersier Port area database, various ships (including Heavy Lift and Wind Turbine Installation vessels) and running simulations in varying environmental conditions, integrating our simulation with their training.

We are honoured to be able to have a long-term partnership with Haventus and Ardersier Port and watching our simulation and modelling come to life.

Our world-class Marine Simulation Centre is available for a wide range of advanced maritime simulation, modelling, project work and training. Please see our Marine Simulation Centre page for more information or email us marinebooking@tynecoast.ac.uk