14,000 tonnes: JLM completes its largest vessel load-out to date

John Lawrie Metals has reached a new milestone, completing its largest vessel load-out to date, with 14,000 tonnes of scrap metal loaded at Aberdeen South Harbour and bound for Turkey.

The project brought together material from across JLM’s network and required careful planning, coordination and teamwork to get everything to the harbour and loaded onto the vessel safely and on schedule.

Bringing 14,000 tonnes together

Loading a 14,000-tonne vessel is no small task. To meet the requirements of the shipment, JLM brought together scrap from its Evanton sites, Aberdeen yard and merchant network, consolidating the material ready for the load-out.

The scale of the shipment meant a significant increase in activity across the business, with around twice the usual JLM team involved in the load-out operation. 

It was a major logistical exercise, with multiple transporters working alongside the JLM team to move the required volumes of material to Aberdeen South Harbour.

From the yard to South Harbour

Before the material could be transported to the South Harbour, 4 material handlers were working across the Aberdeen yard, loading material onto multiple bulkers for transport.

Getting the material to the harbour was a key part of the operation. JLM worked closely with its transport partners to coordinate the movement of the scrap from across its network into South Harbour, playing a key role in the transportation of material for the project.

The sheer volume involved made coordination particularly important, but the team worked together to keep material moving and ensure the vessel could be loaded to schedule.

Loading the vessel

Once at South Harbour, the focus turned to loading the vessel. Over the 4 day operation, two liebherr LH60’s, multiple lorries and 2 shovels were involved to prepare the scrap for loading, including removing dirt and unwanted material before it went into the vessel. 

Despite the scale of the operation and the volume of material being handled, the team completed the load-out to schedule, marking a new record for JLM’s vessel operations.

From Aberdeen to Turkey

Once loaded, the vessel departed Aberdeen South Harbour bound for Turkey, marking the first JLM vessel load-out from Aberdeen to Turkey.

The scrap will be repurposed once it reaches Turkey, continuing its journey through the circular economy and giving the material another use rather than allowing it to go to waste.

A major team effort

Behind the 14,000 tonne figure was a huge amount of work from teams across JLM, from bringing material together across the business to preparing, transporting and loading it at South Harbour.

The project also involved close coordination with our transport partners and the Port of Aberdeen, whose support helped make the operation possible.

A big thank you to everyone involved in delivering the project, particularly the JLM teams who worked across the operation to keep everything moving and ensure the load-out was completed safely and on schedule.

Another milestone for JLM

This 14,000-tonne load-out is more than a new record for JLM. It also demonstrates the scale of operation we can support through Aberdeen South Harbour, bringing together significant volumes of scrap and coordinating the logistics required to move it from across our network to an international market.

It is another important milestone for John Lawrie Metals as we continue to grow our work across metal recycling, decommissioning and the wider circular economy. With an ambitious growth plan taking shape, there are some exciting developments ahead for JLM, with further strategic announcements expected over the coming months.

A huge thank you to everyone involved in the project, including our teams across JLM, our transport partners and the Port of Aberdeen, for helping us deliver our largest vessel load-out to date safely and to schedule.