The jack-up vessels Neptune and Sea Challenger have arrived off the coast of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project in Somerset, UK, as offshore work moves into its final phase.
They will be used to install vital components for the power station’s cooling water system. Six vertical shafts will be installed at a depth of more than 20 m, marking the next stage in connecting the six miles (9.7 km) of tunnels with the seabed.
Once installed, miners will dig a horizontal connection between the bottom of the shaft and the tunnel. This is the first part of linking the intake and outfall heads with the tunnels. These 5,000-tonne structures were lowered onto the seabed last summer and will circulate water to the two nuclear reactors, as HLPFI reported here.
Work to install the shafts will continue into the Autumn.
