Liverpool city region freight forwarding specialist Peel Ports Logistics swoops to secure biomass shipping contract for the huge Drax power station in Yorkshire. Tony McDonough reports

Peel Ports Logistics has secured a major deal to become the new shipping agent for the huge Drax biomass power station in Yorkshire.

A division of Liverpool-based Peel Ports, Peel Ports Logistics is a freight forwarder and shipping agent based on the Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port. Winning the deal with Drax is a coup for the £14m turnover business.

Every year around 50 vessels arrive at the Port of Liverpool’s £100m biomass terminal carrying biomass from locations such as the US and Canada. Each holds up to 50,000 tonnes of biomass comprising woodchips or other materials.

Until a few weeks ago these vessels were facilitated by a rival shipping agent, Clarkson Port Services. Clarksons is a multinational operator with an office in Merseyside. LBN understands Clarksons was keen to continue to provide the service.

Sebastian Gardiner, managing director at Peel Ports Logistics, said: “The agreement is a testament to the knowledge and experience of our teams, and a real vote of confidence to start 2024.

“The wider Peel Ports Group already has a great working relationship with Drax, and we look forward to building on that partnership in the months ahead.”

Once the biomass shipments are unloaded at Liverpool they are then taken by rail to Drax, which is located close to Selby in North Yorkshire. A former coal-fired power station, the facility now provides around 4% of the UK’s electricity by burning biomass.

Drax is heavily subsidised by the UK Government which sees it as an important contributor to its net zero target. However, environmentalists question Drax’s net zero credentials.

They dispute the idea that the process of burning biomass is genuinely carbon neutral. Its emissions are offset by the trees used to produce the fuel sequestering carbon dioxide as they grow.

Earlier this month, Peel Ports Logistics welcomed bulk carrier Aikaterini to the Port of Liverpool, carrying the first shipment under the new deal.

Services provided to Drax will include supporting logistics around the arrival of the vessels and crew, as well as customs clearance.

Mark Gibbens, head of logistics at Drax, added: “Our new partnership with Peel Port Logistics strengthens Drax’s global supply chain, ensuring we help keep the lights on for millions of British households and businesses for many more years to come.

“The biomass brought ashore at ports such as Liverpool strengthens the UK’s national energy security and supports thousands of jobs right across the country.”

The biomass handling facility at the Port of Liverpool opened in 2016, with pellets stored at one of three purpose-built silos once they are unloaded from their vessels.