Supporting SPR with Marine Operations
If you are the owner of a fishing or other vessel that is under 500GT who would like to bid for any marine operations work relating to the windfarm, please note that the following minimum criteria will apply:
Fully insured
Experience of operations in the West of Scotland
If over 24m a Load Line Certificate (fishing vessels shall have a Load Line exemption)
Stability Booklet
All vessels should have a Safety Management System in place, please refer to:
Notice to Mariners
Advance notification will be given of offshore survey works associated with vessels being used for MachairWind. These notices will provide details of the location, timings and vessels involved. Further details are provided below.
Notice 1 - Scheduled maintenance works on the metocean equipment was undertaken over a 7-day period from 1st December 2023.
Maintenance of Metocean Equipment Notice to Mariners MCW-GEB-PMG-IBR-00003
Notice 2 - MachairWind deployed metocean equipment in April 2023 on the windfarm site and export cable corridor. The single FLiDAR buoy, two wave buoys and two seabed frames collected sea state, current and wind data. This provided us with a detailed understanding of the site conditions. Find more information in our Notice to Mariners:
MCW-GEN-CSM-NOT-IBR-000002 - Confirmation of Floating LiDAR and Metocean Survey Deployment
Notice 3 - A maintenance visit on the floating LiDAR buoy, surface metocean equipment buoys and seabed landers, (which were deployed at two sites in April 2023) was scheduled. A partial service visit took place in August 2023. However, due to weather, the service could not be completed. Please find an updated Notice to Mariners below:
MCW-GEN-PMG-COM-IBR-000003 Maintenance of Metocean Equipment
Notice 4 - MachairWind commenced Site Investigation within the Option Agreement Area work late summer of 2023 and completed the first round in November 2023. Find more information in our Notice to Mariners:
Commencement Site Investigation Works Notice to Mariners MCW-GEN-PMG-COM-IBR-000004
Engagement with Local Fishers
Our liaison officers – Brown and May Marine – are currently engaging with local fishers on an ongoing basis. Thus far, several fishers from Islay and Jura have pinpointed frequently used seabed areas and ports, as well as vessels operating in the project area. This has assisted us in analysing the area to ensure continuation activity for sea users within the site. We thoroughly appreciate the cooperation of sea users and fishers within Argyll & Bute and look forward to ongoing discussions.