UK-based Briggs Marine has won a contract to deliver crew transfer vessel (CTV) services to the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) wind farm offshore Scotland.
Under the contract, the company will utilise its Damen Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2610 vessel Forth Enginee r to provide transfer of technicians to turbines, substations, and construction vessels as well as to offer a cargo-carrying capability to support construction and operations.
“The ‘Forth Engineer’ will be crewed by fully qualified and experienced, locally based personnel. We know local expertise is important to NnG and Briggs Marine can fulfil this, whilst also ensuring that the equally important areas of capability, resilience and flexibility are also maintained”, said Rob Baker , Group General Manager at Briggs Marine.
Jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB and under construction 15 kilometres off the coast of Fife, NnG will comprise 54 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines.
The project entered the offshore construction phase in August 2020.
In February, the developers announced that the full commissioning of NnG was postponed until 2024 due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic both in Europe and in the Far East.
Despite this delay, the construction of the offshore wind farm continued with the arrival of the first turbine components, turbine blades, and a number of tower sections at the Port of Dundee in March.
At the beginning of this month, Heerema Marine Contractors installed the first substation on the offshore wind farm using the world’s largest crane vessel Sleipnir .
Once fully operational, NnG will supply enough electricity for around 375,000 homes and offset over 400,000 tonnes of Co2 emissions each year.