Offshore Structures (Britain) Ltd.
Offshore Structures (Britain) Ltd. operates as a manufacturer specializing in marine offshore structural foundations, situated at Haverton Hill near Billingham along the northern bank of the River Tees. This enterprise originated from a joint venture between Bladt Industries and EEW, utilizing the premises initially developed by TAG Energy Solutions.
Before this, the facility was briefly managed by Tees Alliance Group during the late 2000s for an oil rig substructure project that was cut short.
The location, once known as Haverton Hill shipyard, was founded as Furness Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in 1918, with ship construction activities ceasing in 1979.
History
Originally established in 1917 as part of a wartime shipbuilding initiative, the Haverton Hill yard operated under the name Furness Shipbuilding Company from 1919 until 1969, functioning within the Furness Withy shipping group. In 1968, ownership transferred to Swan Hunter, who oversaw operations for ten years. Subsequently, Smith's Dock Co. Ltd completed three vessels there by 1978 before shipbuilding activities concluded in 1979.
In 2008, Tees Alliance Group (TAG) revived the yard to fabricate the foundation for the 'SeaDragon 1' oil rig, which was initially planned for leasing to Pemex of Mexico. However, TAG’s contract with Sea Dragon Offshore ended in 2009 due to financial concerns highlighted by financier Lloyds TSB, leading to production relocating to a Singapore facility specializing in rig construction.
TAG Energy Solutions was established in 2010, investing in a new manufacturing site measuring approximately 40 by 171 meters designed for producing large-diameter steel tubes utilized in monopoles, jacket foundations, and various offshore structures. In 2013, TAG secured a contract to provide monopoles and transition pieces for the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm.
By September 2014, TAG entered insolvency with liabilities amounting to £61 million and resulted in roughly 100 redundancies.
Later that year, Danish firm Bladt Industries and German company EEW purchased TAG’s assets and created Offshore Structures (Britain) Limited to operate from the Billingham facility. This partnership won an initial contract in January 2015 to supply transition pieces for the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind project.
As of mid-2021, the yard remains unoccupied except for security staff present on site.