North East Scotland News

UK-based company Tugdock has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Salamander floating offshore wind farm to collaborate on innovation for floating offshore wind energy in Scotland.Tugdock, based in Cornwall, UK, has patented marine buoyancy technology that enables heavy marine structures to be built or assembled and loaded-out in ports with water depth or space restrictions.Salamander Offshore Wind is a joint venture development project between Simply Blue Group, Ørsted and Subsea7, which is developing a floiating wind farm to be located offshore from Peterhead in North-East Scotland.

Port of Aberdeen said Tuesday it had welcomed the first cruise ship into the "transformational" £400 million Aberdeen South Harbour expansion. The 203-meter-long AIDAaura, with a capacity for more than 1,200 guests, is the longest vessel to visit the Port of Aberdeen to date. The vessel arrived from Hamburg, Germany, for a full day visit as part of a Scottish cruise. The AIDAaura berthed on Castlegate Quay, and the guests were greeted by a 50-strong pipe band and Highland dancers from Robert Gordon’s College and ‘Welcome to Aberdeenshire’ volunteers.

Shell's Penguins FPSO has set sail from China loaded aboard Boskalis' White Marlin semi-submersible heavy transportation vessel.In a social media post on Thursday, Boskalis said: "Boskalis’ semi-submersible transport vessel White Marlin departed from Qingdao, China with an impressive cargo; the 34,000-ton cylinder-shaped Shell Penguins FPSO. After a smooth and safe float-on and [seafastening] campaign, the vessel started her journey to Norway." At the time of writing, the White Marlin was sailing past the east coast of Taiwan…

The construction of the Penguins FPSO for Shell's namesake field in the UK North Sea has reportedly been completed in China.CGTN, the China Global Television Network website, on Thursday, shared a video of the completed Penguins FPSO, and said the 118-meter-tall cylindrical FPSO, constructed by the Chinese Offshore Oil Engineering Co., Ltd. company in Qingdao, had been delivered to "a British client."In January 2018, Shell made a decision to redevelop the Penguins field in the northern North Sea…

More than 60% of the Port of Aberdeen's £400 million South Harbour development is now operational, marking the project's penultimate construction milestone, the port said in a statement on Thursday.The handover from construction to operations for Dunnottar, Crathes, and Castlegate (East) Quays was completed this week. Castlegate (West) is scheduled to open in December 2022, and the remaining Balmoral Quay will be brought into service in Q2 2023, making Aberdeen the largest berthage port in Scotland…

CessCon Decom,  a Scotland-based firm specializing in decommissioning of oil and gas structures, plans to launch a decommissioning hub at the Port of Aberdeen’s £400 million South Harbour expansion in Q3 2022, creating up to 50 new jobs.The new hub will be located within Crathes Quay at South Harbour and deliver dismantling, recycling, and reuse services with a key focus on subsea infrastructure. The jobs boost is expected over the next 12 months, and CessCon said it would be…

U.K.-based safety and survival solutions provider Survitec said it has completed its acquisition of Blue Anchor Fire & Safety, a Scottish provider of survival solutions to the fisheries, maritime and offshore energy industries.The investment, part of Survitec’s expansion strategy, follows the acquisition in May of Norway’s Hansen Protection, a provider of personal protective equipment.Baba Devani, Chief Executive Officer, Marine, Survitec, said, “We are delighted to announce this acquisition…

The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) is opened by Lord Duncan, UK Government Minister for Scotland and Paul Wheelhouse MSP, Scottish Energy Minister, in Newburgh, in North-East Scotland’s Energetica Corridor.The Centre aims to work in partnership with companies to become the global leader in research and development (R&D) focused on reducing costs, extending field and asset life, and transforming the traditional approach to decommissioning.100 offshore platforms and 5,700km of pipeline are forecast to be decommissioned or reused over the next decade on the UK Continental Shelf. With the Oil and Gas Authority estimating the total cost of oil and gas decommissioning to be £58bn…

Shell announced the final investment decision for the Penguins field redevelopment project in the U.K. sector, which includes the construction of a new-build Sevan Marine designed cylindrical floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel. The Penguins field is in 165 metres of water, approximately 150 miles north east of the Shetland Islands. Discovered in 1974, the field was first developed in 2002 and is a joint venture between Shell (50 percent and operator) and ExxonMobil (50 percent). The Penguins field currently processes oil and gas using four existing drill centres tied back to the Brent Charlie platform. The redevelopment of the field…

Welsh workboat builder Mainstay Marine said it has delivered a newly built 15-meter crew transfer vessel to Scottish tug operator and owner Targe Towing. The Camarc designed vessel is constructed with a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. It sails at speeds in excess of 15 knots and has a bollard pull of 6 metric tons. Compliment is for two crew and 12 passengers. Targe Towing provides dedicated towage for north east Scotland ports including BP’s Hound Point Marine terminal on the Firth of Forth.

A designer, builder and maintainer of workboats and renewable marine energy devices has won a significant contract to construct a crew transfer vessel. Mainstay Marine Solutions, which won against international competition, will build the boat at its deep-water facility in Pembroke Dock for client Targe Towing, a Scottish-based tug owner and operator. The 15m vessel, designed by Carmarc Design, will have a maximum speed of 15 knots and capacity for two crew and 12 passengers.

A young mechanical engineer has been recognized for her outstanding effort and achievement after winning a prestigious apprenticeship award from North East Scotland College. Alison Petrie, 20, from Maud, Aberdeenshire, works with global-leading engineering firm Power Jacks which is supporting her college studies to gain a Modern Apprenticeship in manufacturing and maintenance engineering. She was presented with the Ian Corney Engineering Award at the college’s Modern Apprenticeship…

Ferguson Modular, part of the Ferguson Group recently invested in state-of-the art plant equipment to improve operations. Ferguson Modular has made a significant investment in equipping its Kintore base with the latest tools to improve daily operations. A brand new Combilift straddle carrier, the first to be implemented in North East Scotland, went into operation recently at Ferguson Modular. The equipment will improve the safety and efficiency when mobilising accommodation modules during loading/unloading.

Production technology services provider Proserv has created a new platform for robust and sustainable growth after restructuring its business into a fully integrated global organisation with a new company brand and fresh strategic focus. The new organisation, with global headquarters located in Westhill, Aberdeen, UK, brings together five respected and successful companies under the new Proserv brand. Leveraging the strong market positions, track records and capabilities of these individual companies…