A new Scottish scrap facility is aiming to lure major containerships for green recycling.
Atlas Decommissioning has signed a deal with owner Peel Ports to revive the large Inchgreen drydock in Greenock that has been unused for 20 years.
The English company said the new plan would create about 100 jobs. The plant could rival Turkey and Norway as a destination for vessels ending their working lives in Europe.
Mike Wood, from Atlas Decommissioning, told the BBC: "What we are doing here is essentially shipbuilding in reverse and requires much of the same engineering excellence and expertise."
Atlas said it already has contracts in place with "blue chip" container lines for multiple vessels that are set to exit the global fleet.
Wood added: "Inchgreen Dry Dock, as well as its size, also has direct access to very deep water. As a facility for the contracts we have in place, I'd go as far as to say it is unique in the UK."
The dock and surrounding land will become a hub for the production of recycled metal, the company believes.
Famous liner fitted out
Inchgreen was where the famous liner QE2 was completed in the 1960s after its launch from the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank.
The dock's cranes were demolished four years ago.
Campaigners had been calling for investment to revive the facility.
Labour councillor Stephen McCabe, the leader of Inverclyde Council, told the BBC that the plan is "a terrific shot in the arm for the Inverclyde economy".
But opposition political group Alba's leader on the council, Jim McEleny, told The Herald newspaper that the drydock would become the country's "largest scrap yard".
He said the decision could also endanger future plans to expand operations at the neighbouring Ferguson shipyard in Port Glasgow.
