Heysham is a key ferry port serving the busy Irish Sea routes, with three RoRo berths handling freight and passenger ferries.  

In 1997, Beckett Rankine was commissioned to support major upgrades to the port’s infrastructure, which would meet the demands of conventional ferries and the new, high-speed SeaCat vessels, as well as improve operational efficiency. 

We were involved with several upgrades to the berths. At Berth 1, we designed and supervised the installation of a high-performance fendering system, upgraded the linkspan pontoon, and delivered a new passenger access bridge and heavy-duty steel fibre concrete paving.  

We also undertook a fatigue analysis of the linkspan and strengthened the winch tower’s marine foundations using underwater tremie concrete. All works were carefully phased around vessel movements, allowing the port to remain operational throughout the work.