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Ports and Harbours - North Coast and Northern Isles

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Buckie Harbour

For over ten years Buckie Harbour has been home to an offshore wind O&M operation. It was chosen by the Beatrice Demonstrator project as the home for their twin hulled maintenance vessel.

It has now been named as the O&M base for the Moray West offshore wind farm and this will create 60 new jobs and bring economic benefit to the Buckie community for the next 20 years and beyond. The base will be the onshore hub from which the offshore facilities are run through its operational life, with the first projected power for the base thought to be in 2024. The harbour will also be used to support the wind farm during its construction phase.

See the Buckie Harbour section on the Scottish Energy Ports website for a more detailed specification on the port's faculties.

Image credit: Moray Council

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Fraserburgh Harbour

Fraserburgh is a diverse and busy port supporting customers in the offshore wind, fishing, oil and gas and cargo markets. They are well positioned for nearby Scotwind awarded sites and pride themselves on providing a knowledgeable, efficient and high-quality service.

The Moray East Offshore Wind Farm O&M base is fully operational from Fraserburgh Harbour with related SOV and CTV vessel operations. The harbour is committed to the success of all clients and provides smooth operations along with the necessary support required to deliver dependable and predictable outcomes every time.

The Harbour is building on it's current success with the Fraserburgh Harbour Masterplan, an ambitious plan which will bring new Deepwater berthing and quayside space into this port which has an existing skills base and supply chain.    
See the Fraserburgh Harbour section on the Scottish Energy Ports website for a more detailed specification on the port's faculties.

Image credit: Fraserburgh Harbour

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Kinlochbervie Harbour

With over 200m of quayside, not including the 150m stretch of quayside beside the Fish Market, Kinlochbervie Harbour, is another site of potential interest to the offshore wind industry given its proximity to the proposed sites in the forthcoming ScotWind leasing round on the North West Coast of Scotland.

The harbour is managed by Highland Council and is one of the most northerly harbours on the West Coast which is one reason why it is popular with fishing vessel covering the West Coast and the North Atlantic.

This is another ideal harbour for the vessels required for early stage wind farm development work such as site, environmental and geotechnical surveys as well as for craft involved in the longer term operational and maintenance activity.       

Information on Kinlochbervie Harbour can be found on Highland Council's website.

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Lochinver Harbour

Lochinver Harbour is home to many of the whitefish vessels from the UK, France and Spain that ply the water of the North West Coast, Rockall and the North Atlantic. It is one of the centres of fishing on the North West Coast and is situated in the Assynt district of Sutherland. Lochinver is also the home of Highland Council's Harbour division which manages the harbour and 7 other harbours in the Highlands area.

Its position in on the North West Coast has brought it to the attention of the offshore wind industry as a potential site for operations and maintenance activity due to its proximity to the planned projects in the forthcoming ScotWind leasing round with three major sites to the north of Lochinver. 

With over 400m of quayside and a minimum water depth of 5.5m it is an ideal harbour for the vessels required for early stage wind farm development work such as site, environmental and geotechnical surveys as well as for craft involved in the longer term operational and maintenance activity.    

Information on Lochinver Harbour can be found on Highland Council's website.

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Lyness

Part of the old naval base infrastructure Lyness has been upgraded by Marine Services over the last 12 years to service the wave energy industry as various devices were tested at the nearby European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC). The above picture shows two large wave devices at the quayside.

Part of Orkney Island Council's current harbours development plan will see further investment at Lyness to increase the laydown area and strengthen the quaysides further to attract business form the oil and gas decommissioning market.

See the Lyness Harbour section on the Orkney Harbours website for a more detailed specification on the port's existing faculties.

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Macduff Harbour

Macduff is a commercial port on the Moray Firth in the North East of Scotland. Macduff Harbour is set to receive £102,000 as part of a wider project looking to improve harbours and marine training opportunities. Specifically, the money will be used to improve vessel access at the harbour slipway ­– to ensure that Macduff is a fully operational port to serve the community and fishing industry. Additionally, money has been granted to cover a feasibility study concerning the opportunity of a fish market, and another looking at the feasibility of deepening the harbour at Macduff – which could allow it to be used for turbines.

Macduff can house four individual vessels in its slipway, and it has large-scale fabrication and vessel repair facilities on site, alongside contractors, mobile cranes, and specialist access equipment (such as elevated platforms to raise products so different parts can be worked on). The harbour also has a weigh bridge facility which is available for use 24/7, and there are ship painters, marine chandlery and shipping agents available onsite – based within the harbour.

See the Macduff Harbour section on the Scottish Energy Ports website for a more detailed specification on the port's faculties .

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Mallaig Harbour

Mallaig Harbour has diversified from it’s fishing heritage and now provides a range of services to the fisheries, aquaculture and tourism industries. Mallaig has good transport links, which has led to its development as a ferry terminal, with regular ferry sailings to Skye, the Small Isles and Lochboisdale.

MOWI harvest fish through Mallaig for onward processing in Fort William, and the port is a hub for the aquaculture industry, being well placed to service sites on the West Coast of Scotland, including the Outer Hebrides.

Mallaig Harbour Authority published their Masterplan in 2016, and this has been further strengthened by the results of a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) advisory for the Armadale and Mallaig ferry terminals. The plans would see a new North Breakwater built, with additional deep-water berthing, and the relocation of the ferry terminal from its existing position within the Harbour. This will free up quay space on the existing Harbour and provide additional commercial opportunities along the new quay.

Mallaig’s central location on the West Coast of Scotland would make it an ideal Harbour to provide services to renewables sites on the West Coast and the harbour is keen to engage with the industry to incorporate any required infrastructure within the proposed Masterplan developments.   

See the Mallaig Harbour website for a more detailed specification on the harbour's faculties.

Image credit: Scotavia

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Scrabster Harbour

Scrabster Harbour is a ferry terminal, inshore fisheries harbour, a base for oil and gas supply vessels and has also served the renewables tidal energy industry in the Pentland Firth. This multi use port has plans to extend its role in the energy sector by serving the next round of offshore wind sites in the ScotWind leasing round.

It completed the first phase of its expansion plans a few years ago with the £17.6m development of the Jubilee Quay in 2013 (seen top centre in the picture). The Harbour Authority now plans a further expansion with the redevelopment of the St Ola pier to create a modern 280m deep water berth along with seabed reclamation works to provide a new laydown and storage area in the south of the harbour.

Details of the expansion to the St Ola Pier can be found on the Scrabster Harbour website.

See the Scrabster Harbour section on the Scottish Energy Ports website for a more detailed specification on the port's existing faculties.

Image credit: Scrabster Harbour

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Stromness Harbour

Orkney Island Council's Marine Services own and manage most of the harbour infrastructure in the islands. Stromness is the most westerly harbour in their portfolio and is home to a number of maritime industries including inshore fishing, tourism and renewable energy.

It is the ferry terminal for the mainland link to Scrabster. It's proximity to the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) wave test site has meant that the harbour has been involved in this pioneering sector since 2003.
With Lyness and the planned deep water port at Scapa Marine Services believe that they have the right mix of infrastructure to service the new offshore wind sites which are planned for the area under the soon to launch ScotWind leasing round.

See the Stromness Harbour section on the Orkney Harbour's website for a more detailed specification on the port's existing faculties.

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Wick Harbour

Wick Harbour is now the operations and maintenance hub for SSE's 588MW Beatrice offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth.

It is home to a small fleet of fast CTVs (Crew Transfer Vessels) used to ferry the wind turbine technicians out to the wind farm for routine maintenance and ad hoc repairs.

SSE have refurbished two old derelict buildings on the quayside, built in 1807 by famous civil engineer Thomas Telford, to serve as their operational base in Wick.

The refurbishment was carried out with special attention paid to the historic nature of the buildings and many of the original features were retained. This will serve as home to a new generation of engineers and technicians serving what will become one of the largest industries in Scotland over the coming decades. 

Find out more about Wick Harbour section on the Scottish Energy Ports web site.

Scottish Energy Ports

Image credit: Wick Harbour Authority

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