10 further Moray East offshore jackets arrival at the Port of Nigg

OHT’s heavy transport vessel, “Hawk” arrived at the port of Nigg in the Cromarty firth toady with a further ten jackets onboard, each standing 75m - 80m high.

The jackets will be offloaded at Nigg, where they will undergo the final preparations before they are loaded onto the jack-up vessel “Seajacks Scylla” which will undertake their installation at sea, more than 25km from shore in the Moray Firth.

The Port of Nigg was chosen as the foundations staging port for the construction of the 950MW offshore windfarm which will see a total of 100 offshore wind turbine generators and three offshore substation platforms being installed.

To get the electricity to customers onshore, three subsea cables will be laid which will connect the three offshore substations with underground onshore cables at Inverboyndie, and thence on to the new substation currently under construction south of New Deer, which will make the power generated available to consumers via the National Grid.

When complete the facility will be capable of meeting the needs of more than 950 000 homes.

Commenting, Moray East Project Director Marcel Sunier said:

“The arrival of these impressive structures at the Port of Nigg gives a striking understanding of the scale of the project which is being undertaken in the Moray Firth and the benefit this brings to the local community.

“Because we are able to work at such massive scale that we have been able to make significant cost reductions in the cost of produced power. The Moray East offshore wind farm will make a major contribution to the post Covid recovery producing plentiful low-cost, low carbon power.

Ed Maycock, Moray East Substructures Package Manager said:

“Constructing, transporting and installing these massive substructures is a major undertaking, involving co-operation and co-ordination on a global scale, ultimately brought together in the Moray Firth. I would like to thank everyone who has worked together to get us safely and successfully to this point. ”

Jan Klaassen, Business Unit Director at DEME Offshore said:

“The transport and installation of the jackets got off to a strong start with the first jacket successfully installed early July. Our dedicated Moray East project team and all of our partners ensure this complex project stays on schedule by closely coordinated teamwork. We look forward to continue to work together with our partners for the safe and efficient further execution of the project.”

OHT Project Manager, Egil Ismar said:

“It is great to see Hawk arrive at the Port of Nigg, our third heavy transport vessel to contribute to this project. The voyage went very well and thanks to the close collaboration of all parties during the planning, loading and transportation, we are set to reach the halfway point of our role in this project on schedule.”

Global Energy Group Chairman, Roy MacGregor commented:

“It is our continuing desire to make The Port of Nigg an Energy HUB and I am delighted that DEME Offshore recognised that we have the facilities, experience and skills to support them with this extremely exciting project.

“The Port of Nigg is an ideal staging port for the Moray East Project due to its deep-water access and the high ground bearing strength of its quay and storage areas. Great skill is required to safely manoeuvre the massive structures off of the Heavy Lift Vessel and into the storage areas.

“Each structure will then be moved back to the quayside storages areas at a later date where they will be lifted onboard DEME’s installation vessel which will is already operating out of the Nigg facility. In addition, structures will also arrive at Nigg by Tug & Barge, and will be transferred to the installation vessel for offshore deployment.

”Our strategy over the last few years has been in Energy Transition within a changing and highly competitive marketplace. We have the diverse mix of facilities, people and supply and support companies to meet the requirements of our Clients across multi energy markets.”

Bob Buskie, Chief Executive of the Port of Cromarty Firth said:

“We are delighted that the facilities in the Cromarty Firth are playing such an integral role in the Moray East project. Over £110m has been invested in the area to ensure the Cromarty Firth’s infrastructure, both at Nigg and Invergordon is at the forefront of all the opportunities presented in the Scottish Offshore Wind sector and in turn generating sustainable jobs throughout the region.

“We are excited to work alongside Global Energy Group and extend a warm welcome to the Hawk and following its arrival into the Cromarty Firth.”