Offshore Construction Start

Offshore construction at the Moray West offshore wind farm effectively started at the beginning of October 2023 with the commencement of the monopile installation campaign. Developer Ocean Winds reported that the project’s offshore installation campaign had commenced and that major offshore components were being installed, marking a key transition from development and manufacturing into full offshore construction for the nearly 900 MW project in the Moray Firth. The Boskalis heavy lift installation vessel Bokalift 2 arrived in the Port of Invergordon on 1 October 2023 to begin loading the first batch of monopiles, including those for the two offshore substations, with 26 monopiles already marshalled at the port ahead of installation. Monopile installation was then set to continue as further loads were delivered, forming the backbone of the project’s foundation works at sea. Prior to this, trade press had reported that installation of the monopile foundations at the 882 MW Moray West project was expected to start on 1 October 2023, using Bokalift 2 under a contract between Boskalis and Ocean Winds that also covered transition piece and offshore substation installation. A later update confirmed that major offshore construction work at the site did indeed start at the beginning of October with the installation of the first monopile foundation. Together, these sources establish early October 2023—anchored on 1 October, when Bokalift 2 mobilised and began loading monopiles—as the start of offshore construction activities at the Moray West site.