Heerema Marine Contractors' (HMC) deepsea heavy lift vessel, Aegir, is preparing to commence lifting operations at the port of Tyne's Northumbrian Quay in North Shields, UK.
A number of wind turbine jackets, measuring between 68 and 81 m high and weighing up to 1,300 tonnes, will be towed downriver on a barge from the Smulders Projects UK manufacturing facility, based in Wallsend, to the deepwater berth at the port of Tyne.
The 4,000-tonne lift capacity Aegir will then come alongside the barge and utilise its 125 m-long, 96 m-high crane to lift a jacket. After securing, Aegir will then sail to Scotland with the jacket suspended from its crane, over the side of the vessel, before returning to the port of Tyne to repeat the operation for the remaining structures.
Aegir is expected to return from Scotland every three days to complete a total of five lifting operations.
Steven Clapperton, port of Tyne's harbour master and director of health and safety, environment and marine, said: "The size of the ship, with its 4,000-tonne revolving heavy lift crane, and the complexity of the operation make the port of Tyne's Northumbrian Quay ideally placed to handle this work, due to its deepwater and close proximity to open sea."
