The jack-up vessel Neptune, operated by DEME Group’s subsidiary GeoSea, has arrived to Nigg Energy Park to begin with the offshore installation operations as part of MeyGen tidal array project.
Geosea will use the jack-up vessel MV Neptune to mobilize the equipment and install all heavy turbine foundation structures, weighing more than 1,000 tonnes each, and some of the turbines for MeyGen Phase 1A, starting this month.
Neptune is a DP2 jack-up vessel which has a 2,750 tonnes pre-load per leg capacity and a crane capacity of 600 tonnes at 26 m.
The Phase 1A of the MeyGen project, launched earlier this week, will see the installation of four 1.5MW turbines.
Three of the turbines were built by Andritz Hydro Hammerfest, and one is the AR1500 Atlantis turbine, each weighing almost 200 tonnes.
They will be positioned on top of their foundation structures on the quayside at Nigg before deployment to the MeyGen site in the Pentland Firth.
GeoSea will work alongside James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS), a specialist in dynamic positioning vessel operations in high tidal flow conditions.
JFMS will install and connect three tidal turbines, as reported earlier this week.
The first turbine could start generating power by October, according to Global Energy Group .