Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Blue Tern, an offshore wind jackup installation vessel owned by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, has sailed into the new Aberdeen South Harbour.
The vessel has an overall length of 151 m, a breadth of 50 m and an 800-metric ton crane.
Roddy James, chief commercial officer, Port of Aberdeen, said: “Offshore wind is our most significant opportunity for growth over the next decade. The sector currently accounts for 10% of our overall vessel traffic and with ScotWind, INTOG and other developments on the horizon, we expect that figure to increase significantly in the coming years.”
A wide range of vessels dedicated to the sector, including large cable layers, construction, installation, survey, and service operation vessels, are said to be stopping regularly at the port.
These are working on North Sea wind farms such as Seagreen, Moray East and Moray West. North Harbour is the operations and maintenance base for Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm and Kincardine Offshore Floating Wind Farm.
The recent South Harbour development offers 1.5 km of deepwater berths (9-15 m deep) and can accommodate ships up to 300 m in length.
“Our £400-million [$490-million] investment in Aberdeen South Harbour positions the expanded port, and wider north east supply chain, to play a pivotal role in Scotland’s next generation of offshore wind,” James said.
“We’re engaging across industry and government to understand what’s required from ports to support these projects and discuss how the expanded Port of Aberdeen can unlock value across the offshore wind lifecycle.”
03.27.2023
