A STEELMAKER has been stung by £530m losses from a liquidated Teesside plant – and bosses fear its former site could deliver more cash woes through a lack of equipment maintenance.

SSI expects “zero recovery” from its former Redcar works, which buckled under falling prices and global over-production of steel.

However, officials say any hopes of salvaging some financial consolation could be lost because they have no idea if potentially saleable equipment, such as a £38m coal injection plant, is being preserved.

The uncertainty comes because the plant, which employed more than 2,000 at its peak, is in the hands of an official receiver, who is responsible for the site and the sale of its assets, and governed by laws over environmental permits and access to assets by the Health and Safety Executive.

The Northern Echo contacted the official receiver, but did not receive a response.

SSI’s worries came as the Thai company’s latest figures showed its UK business’ collapse meant the overall group suffered third quarter losses of about £600m, with nine month losses standing at around £720m.

Its UK division, which paused production in mid-September, saw sales of steel slab drop to 580,000 tonnes in the third quarter, which was down on the 679,000 recorded in quarter two and the 688,000 made a year ago.

It also suffered from a lower selling price, which dropped from $507 a tonne this time last year to $308 a tonne.

Speaking publicly for the first time since Redcar’s closure, Win Viriyaprapaikit, SSI group chief executive, who was hailed a saviour in 2012 when the firm restarted the former Corus blast furnace, admitted the company is struggling.

He said: “Global steel over-capacity and demand imbalance since late 2014, and the continuous decline in steel price resulted in a huge operating loss for the group, particularly in the UK.

“On a conservative basis, we expect zero recovery at the completion of SSI UK’s liquidation.

“As SSI UK’s main asset is a large iron and steelmaking plant, which is under the Control of Major Hazards regulation, there are uncertain external factors, which are beyond the company’s control.

“For instance, they include the validity of the environmental permit and access and ability to safeguard assets.

“The legal and liquidation proceedings in this case are unprecedented and unclear to the company at this stage.”

The Redcar plant’s demise has sent shockwaves through the region’s employment landscape, with thousands of direct and supply chain posts lost.

Bosses applied for rehabilitation under Thai law in early October to find a way of battling through its troubles, but, just hours later, its UK works were put into liquidation.

Its failure triggered a flurry of North-East job losses, with about 1,700 former SSI workers having now been made redundant.

The supply chain has also been significantly hit, with a number of companies warning of cuts.

PD Ports, which oversaw delivery of Redcar-made steel slab to foreign customers from Teesport, is one of those affected.

A spokeswoman said talks are continuing with staff on the changes.

The Northern Echo understands a delivery from SSI set off from the region just days before production was stopped at Redcar.