The view from the security man’s cabin is like no­where else in the world. To the left, across saltmarshes of clover and wild orchids, looms Hartlepool nuclear power station. In the distance across the River Tees is the distinctive outline of the Redcar blast furnace and, nearer, the columns of the Seal Sands petrochemicals complex. To the right is a big pigments plant. Nearby, tucked out of view, a dozen seals are basking in the sun.

But the sight that most draws the eye is the ships – four looming, rusty grey vessels, apparently stuck in the land, thanks to a sunken dry dock, against this ex­tra­ordinary backdrop of heavy industry, earth and sky.