OHT to Transport UAE-Made Moray East Jackets

DEME Offshore has awarded Norway’s OHT with a contract to transport 48 jacket foundations for the Moray East offshore wind farm from the United Arab Emirates to Scotland.

OHT will transport the 45 wind turbine jackets and three offshore transformer module (OTM) jackets from Lamprell’s fabrication yard in the UAE to the Port of Nigg in the Scottish Highlands.

OHT will dedicate three of their largest open deck semi-submersible heavy transportation vessels to the project. The three-legged jackets, averaging more than 1,000 tonnes each, will reach up to 80 metres in height and OHT’s fleet will carry on average eight foundations per voyage.

”We started discussions in early 2015 developing the transportation concept, and we have since been in close and open dialogue with DEME Offshore,” said Eirik Rieber-Mohn, Tender Manager, OHT.

The transportation of all of the jackets is expected to be completed by September 2020.

”This contract award has come at the perfect time for OHT, as we approach the highly anticipated launch of our first vessel built specifically for the offshore wind market,” Torgeir E. Ramstad, CEO of OHT, said.

”The Alfa Lift design vessel will be the world’s largest, most innovative and efficient custom-built offshore wind foundation installation vessel. We are looking forward to bringing our extensive experience in heavy transportation to the Moray East project, maximising efficiency for the delivery of critical path components as we transport the jacket foundations safely around Cape of Good Hope on their 12,000 nautical mile journey.”

Currently under construction, the 950MW Moray East wind farm will comprise 100 MHI Vestas 9.5MW turbines installed some 22 kilometres off the Aberdeenshire coast and scheduled to be fully operational in 2022.

The remaining 55 wind turbine jacket foundations are being manufactured by Smulders.

DEME Group is the EPCI contractor for the Moray East turbine foundations and three offshore substation foundations, and is in charge of the transport and installation of the OSS topsides.