Work is underway to prepare Buckie Harbour as an Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base for the upcoming Moray Firth wind farm. The basin at pier 3 of Buckie Harbour is being converted to service Ocean Wind’s Moray West Offshore Wind Farm. To assist in this process, a Danish grab dredger called the Aase Hoj has been brought in.
The primary resource for routine maintenance dredging of the council’s harbours is the MV Selkie, owned by Moray Council. However, an additional external dredging resource was procured in preparation for the use of Buckie Harbour as an O&M facility for offshore wind operations.
Construction work is also ongoing for the O&M base on a brownfield site opposite pier 3. The facility, measuring 1991m2, is expected to be operational next year. It will serve as a base for service technicians to prepare equipment for use on the wind farm. The facility will also have staff to manage the warehouse, health and safety, and equipment monitoring for the wind farm.
Recruitment for the new O&M base is currently underway, with around 60 long-term roles to be based in Buckie. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the site on May 30, which was attended by the then Minister for Energy, Gillian Martin MSP.
Sources:
– Moray Council spokesperson
– Ocean Wind
Note: This article is a summary of the original source article and may not contain all the details or perspectives.
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