SMC joins Saint-Brieuc roster

French offshore wind developer Ailes Marines has awarded Specialist Marine Consultants (SMC) with a contract to provide vessel inspection services to support the construction of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm.

SMC will be providing up to three local Accredited Vessel Inspectors (AVIs) to the project.

SMC’s French inspectors will be supported by the company’s back-office support structure, marine consultants, and additional AVIs.

Ailes Marines, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, is developing the 496 MW Saint-Brieuc wind farm in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc offshore Brittany.

The wind farm will comprise 62 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines installed on jacket foundations some 16 kilometres offshore.

“France represents an exciting market opportunity for us and after years of supporting projects with planning phase consultancy, its great to be able to deliver ‘boots on the ground’ as physical operations are now becoming a reality,” George Moore, Business Development Manager at SMC, said.

”We’re pleased also to build on our relationship with Iberdrola after working closely with them for construction of the East Anglia 1 offshore windfarm in the UK. Their invitation to once again support their operations here is testament to the positive work our teams have been delivering to them for a number of years now.”

The construction of the wind farm is scheduled to begin in 2021, with the commissioning planned for 2023.

Graham Farrant, Marine Assurance Manager at the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm, said: “We are happy to have SMC onboard to ensure we have the expertise to provide marine assurance and the assistance they have already provided to complete remote audits during the current COVID outbreak”.