During his visit, His Majesty toured Smith Quay, where he learned about significant infrastructure investments aimed at supporting offshore wind and other energy projects, which are expected to create new opportunities for Peterhead and the North-East.
Peterhead Port Authority (PPA) is progressing plans to extend the existing 120-metre Smith Quay by approximately 80 metres, creating additional working space for larger vessels.
This development complements a £25 million investment by Maritime Developments Limited (MDL) in the Peterhead Energy Service Base (PESB) at the adjoining Smith Embankment.
The new PESB will feature specialist infrastructure and equipment for offshore marine operations and flexible product handling, aiming to strengthen Peterhead’s capability to support complex offshore projects in the North Sea and internationally. His Majesty met with representatives from PPA, MDL, and other organisations involved in Peterhead’s energy transition.
Graeme Reid, Chief Executive of Peterhead Port Authority, said: “His Majesty’s visit was a tremendous honour for Peterhead Port and a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the scale of the economic opportunity that the energy transition presents for Peterhead and the wider North-East. For more than 50 years this port and the businesses around it have supported the North Sea energy industry.
“We have the skills, the experience, the supply chain and the infrastructure, and our task now is to build on those strengths for the next generation of energy development.”
Mr. Reid added: “The energy transition is not about turning our backs on the industries which have made Peterhead and the North-East successful. It is about taking the expertise and infrastructure developed through decades of offshore energy and using them to create the industries and employment of the future.”
Derek Smith, MDL CEO and Founder, commented on the visit: “I am hugely proud to welcome His Majesty to Peterhead and to share what this town means to MDL. This is where I was born, where I did my apprenticeship and where the business began – and it remains central to our future.”
Mr. Smith highlighted MDL’s commitment, stating: “The Peterhead Energy Service Base is a real statement of our long-term commitment to the town: its people, its port and the skills that have supported marine and energy industries here for generations. To have recently received our third Award for Enterprise – this time a King’s Award for Innovation – makes this visit all the more special.”
Peterhead Port has supported the offshore energy industry for over 50 years, handling around 2,000 energy-sector vessel calls annually. Its deep-water facilities and extensive quayside space enable support for the complete lifecycle of North Sea activity, including oil and gas, subsea work, decommissioning, offshore renewables, and new energy.
PPA also drives the Peterhead Energy Transition Forum (PETF), which focuses on opportunities in offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, skills development, and supply-chain growth.
The Port is positioned to support planned offshore wind developments in Scottish waters and is examining the repurposing of its Tanker Jetty for bulk CO₂ imports by sea for carbon capture and storage.
Alongside its expanding role in the energy transition, Peterhead continues to be the UK’s leading fishing port. In 2025, more than 188,000 tonnes of fish, valued at £341 million, were handled through the Port. The combination of fishing, established offshore energy activity, and new energy infrastructure investment underscores PPA’s ambition for Peterhead to remain a nationally significant centre for marine industry and employment.
