Orion’s replacement for Moray East offshore wind farm arrives in Nigg

The Seajacks Scylla jack-up vessel will start installing jacket foundations at the Moray East offshore wind farm in July, according to a document listing vessels involved in the construction on Moray East project’s website, updated on 18 June.

The vessel’s AIS data shows that Seajacks Scylla arrived at the Port of Nigg early in the morning on 25 June.

The vessel is replacing DEME’s Orion after the latter suffered crane and deck damage as its crane hook broke at the beginning of May.

A few days after the accident, DEME, the soon-to-be owner of the Orion installation vessel, revealed it was looking for another vessel to fulfill its contract for the Moray East offshore wind farm.

Orion was scheduled to start installing 103 jacket foundations after the initially planned delivery at the end of May, including 100 foundations for MHI Vestas 9.5 MW wind turbines and three for the project’s offshore substations.

The first jackets arrived in Nigg in early May from the United Arab Emirates, from where Lamprell will deliver a total of 45 foundations for the wind turbines and three for the offshore substations.

Smulders is in charge of manufacturing the remaining 55 jackets, with the first ones now sent off from its facilities in Newcastle to the Port of Nigg.

The Port of Nigg was selected by DEME Offshore last year, when the company signed a contract with Global Energy Group to provide the port as a staging port for the Moray East jacket foundations installation works.