BUCKIE HARBOUR’S POTENTIAL as a new base for offshore construction work connected to the Beatrice Windfarm project will be supported this week by the arrival of two vessels.
The 160-foot ‘Manu-Pekka’ dredger is expected to berth on Sunday alongside the 88-foot ‘BKM103’, a multicat tug.
The Finnish-build barge has no propulsion and is subsequently towed between work locations by the tug. Both vessels will spend two or three weeks in Buckie as general maintenance work is carried out and new equipment is fitted before work begins in the Moray Firth.
From there they will spend around three months excavating a subsea trench for carrying transmission cabling from the site of the offshore windfarm, some 35miles offshore. The power cables will make landfall to the west of Portgordon, from where they will be connected to the new electricity substation which is currently under construction at Blackhillock.
Buckie Harbour is the largest of the six owned by Moray Council and has been promoted as having an important role as a support and maintenance base for the offshore renewables industry.
A Moray Council spokesman said: “The council continues to support offshore work by offering Buckie harbour as a strategic location for a range of services.
“This latest opportunity is part of ongoing partnership working with the offshore sector and we will continue to expand and develop the services that we are able to offer.”