A SCOTTISH port has officially unveiled its new £25 million ship-to-shore cranes at a ceremony, with bosses calling it the biggest-ever investment for the site’s container facilities.

Owner Peel Ports Clydeport welcomed guests to the port on Tuesday for a ceremony to celebrate the investment and unveiling.

Bosses say the west-facing freight port’s new infrastructure is already benefitting customers, with one vessel recently departing 13 hours earlier than planned because of the quicker turnaround time.

The cranes arrived at the port in June this year and have been fully operational since July following stringent testing.

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The port operator believes the cranes will help accommodate increased demand from cargo owners, and support growth in transatlantic trade, as well as future proof the port.

A naming competition for the 72m tall cranes was launched by Peel Ports Clydeport in partnership with Inverclyde Council, with the winners announced earlier this year.

Avaleigh Lang, 10, of Lady Alice Primary in Greenock, chose Craner Swift as a nod to the US pop icon Taylor Swift, while Frances McFadden, 10, of the town’s St Mary’s Primary School opted for U-Crane Bolt as a tribute to Jamaican gold medallist Usain Bolt.

Jim McSporran, port director at Peel Ports Clydeport, said: “It’s been great to welcome guests and customers to Greenock today so we can celebrate this important addition to our port estate.

“We believe the new cranes will be transformational for our port, and it’s incredible the impact they are having already “It’s clear to the human eye how much quicker they are, and we’ve had a great response from customers and our teams on the efficiencies they’re bringing.

“With so much pressure on supply chains, it’s invaluable for our customers to know our operations are even faster now.”

Owen Griffiths, logistics director at drinks group Diageo, said “We welcome the investment made by Peel Ports, who are an important partner to Diageo, in delivering resilience and capacity to our network out of Scotland, enabling our goods to reach our customers around the world.”

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Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, added: “Between the Port of Greenock and the new Ocean Terminal visitor centre, that’s the best part of £50 million of public and private investment in the overall site, which is a key location for Inverclyde, to help boost the local and national economies and encourage further inward investment, support jobs, and boost tourism.

“The new visitor centre has allowed for both the expansion of the cruise ship and also container side of the port and cements Inverclyde’s place as a key shipping hub.

“It’s great to see the investment in both facilities paying off with an increase in the number of vessels and improved turnaround times.”

The capabilities of the new cranes have already been key in securing new routes, include a new weekly deep sea container service connecting Scotland to the Mediterranean market of Turkey.

The cranes are the largest single investment made at the container terminal and comes less than a year after a new £20 million cruise ship visitor centre opened at the neighbouring Greenock Ocean Terminal.