PEEL Ports have confirmed that their newly appointed Head of Marine Scotland will be based in Greenock.

Alex McIntosh has been appointed to the senior position at Peel Ports Clydeport and becomes the first woman to hold the role for the port group in Scotland.

Alex recently returned to the business after becoming its first ever female pilot in Scotland in early 2010. 

Now based at the Port of Greenock, her new role involves overseeing the safe navigation of vessels, ranging from luxury cruise ships to container vessels, across 450 square miles of water.

Alex spent over three years as a pilot before moving to the Port of Aberdeen, where she rose to the position of harbour master.

The port group’s statutory harbour authority area covers a huge area of the west of Scotland, from Loch Fyne on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, as well as Ayrshire, Glasgow and everything in between.

Alex joins the Port of Greenock at a busy time for the facility, with two new £25 million cranes recently arriving and due to be fully operational this year.

She heads up a team of five at the port, with 20 further team members in the wider department supporting the navigation of the authority’s waters.

Bosses at Peel Ports say Alex's appointment comes as the group strives to encourage more women into the maritime industry than ever before.