Peel Ports Group has appointed Nigel Kent as Group Head of Project Cargo, consolidating the UK's second largest port operator's project cargo capabilities under one national leadership structure for the first time.

The move responds to rising demand driven by the energy transition and major UK infrastructure programmes, with components for power stations and renewables infrastructure now planned years in advance.

Kent joins from a Head of Commercial role at Peel Ports Logistics, the group's shipping and freight forwarding business. He will be based at Ellesmere Port with a national remit.

What changes for shippers?

The restructuring replaces a fragmented setup where customers dealt with separate contacts at each port. Kent now leads one team across the group's entire network, providing a single point of contact from first enquiry to final delivery.

His credentials run deep. Kent first joined the business, then known as Quality Freight UK, in 2010 as a Commercial Manager, becoming Head of Commercial in 2021. He brings over 16 years of client relationship experience across all logistics disciplines.

Kent noted that the group is already working with clients on projects not scheduled to begin until the end of the decade, with early involvement the key point of value in the supply chain.

A track record measured in turbine components

Peel Ports Group's project cargo credentials are substantial:

• King George V Dock at Clydeport in Glasgow has handled components for more than 1,200 wind turbines since 2005 — roughly 35 percent of Scotland's installed wind capacity.
• The facility processed over 1,000 components in 2024 alone.
• A GBP 3 million egress road has recently been added to improve oversized load movements.
• In 2025, the group delivered a 178-tonne transformer and cooler to the Deeside Converter Station for National Grid's GBP 54 billion transmission upgrade — among the heaviest abnormal loads ever moved through a UK port.

The group has also announced plans to develop a new deep water terminal and 350 metres of additional quay at Port of East Anglia to further support project cargo growth.

Why the single-team structure matters

David Huck, Chief Operating Officer at Peel Ports Group, described demand for project cargo as rising fast. He emphasised the importance of a single team with UK-wide reach that understands the whole journey, enabling earlier and faster planning for developers across the port network.

For carriers, forwarders and industrial shippers, the commercial logic is straightforward: energy transition projects reward early, coordinated planning, and a group-wide contact shortens the path from enquiry to delivery across multiple ports.

With National Grid's transmission upgrade running to GBP 54 billion and Scotland's wind build-out continuing, Peel Ports is positioning its national project cargo team to capture heavy-lift and oversized consignments scheduled well beyond the end of the decade.