Perth Harbour is an unusual one, being 30 miles from the North Sea. As Harbourmaster John Taylor points out, being inland is ideal for the region’s businesses, since it provides ready access to motorways, dual carriageways and the national rail network. This in turn facilitates the fast and easy transportation of goods to all areas of Scotland and Northern England.

"Perth Harbour provides a lower cost alternative to the larger coastal ports," he comments. The harbour itself is very much a tidal habour and when the tide is out, vessels sit on the bottom. "At present we have a 4.2 metre draught at high tide, which means quite large cargo ships can sail right into the heart of Scotland. This is what the timber and commodities clients that use the port are looking for. They want to get their products directly onto the road network with the minimum of haulage," he adds.

The other thing that the harbour brings to the party is the ability to do a really fast turnaround, so that a ship that sails in on the morning tide can steam away on the afternoon tide. "There are not many harbours that can turn a ship around that quickly. We can achieve this because we have a strong working relationship with a third party stevedoring company, who provide us with a 24-hour round the clock service," he notes.