Swire Blue Ocean jack-up Pacific Orca has joined MPI vessel Discovery to tackle foundation installation at the 400MW Rampion wind farm off the UK south coast.
Offshore construction recommenced this week after a two-month hiatus due to the black bream spawning season.
A total of 20 Sif-made monopiles have been installed at the site.
Both vessels will continue the foundation installation campaign for the remainder of the year with the installation of 116 MHI Vestas V112-3.45MW turbines due to start in early 2017.
Project manager Chris Tomlinson said: “Over the last few months, our highly skilled team has continued to prepare the site for foundation installation, progressing with boulder relocation and unexploded ordnance surveys.
“We are now pleased to be entering the next stage of piling and we’ll now work towards installing the remainder of the foundations by the end of this year, in preparation for turbine installation to begin in 2017.”
Rampion will be commissioned in 2018 and is being developed by Eon, the UK Green Investment Bank and Canadian energy company Enbridge.
Image: MPI Discovery at the Rampion wind farm site (Eon)
