Smulders sends off last Moray East upper jackets

Smulders has sent off the final three upper jackets for the Moray East offshore wind farm from its yard in Hoboken, Belgium, to Newcastle upon Tyne.

Smulders will deliver 55 turbine jacket foundations for the project, with the remaining 45 being delivered by Lamprell from its yards in the United Arab Emirates.

The 55 jackets are being fabricated in two sections, upper and lower. Thirty-five of the upper sections are being made in Belgium and the remaining 20 in Spain.

The 55 lower sections are manufactured in Newcastle, where they are mated with the upper sections.

The completed jackets are then sent to the Port of Nigg, where they are prepared for installation at the project site.

It is anticipated that jacket transport from Newcastle will continue until the end of the year when all are expected to have been fabricated and delivered.

Moray East will feature 100 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW turbines installed in the Moray Firth. The 950 MW project is expected to be fully operational by 2022.