Business / Major Dales Voe project given £1.2m funding boost
MAJOR plans for an ultra-deep-water quay in Lerwick have secured almost £1.2 million in funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
The work at Dales Voe will expand the range of decommissioning and renewable projects Lerwick Port Authority can take on.
HIE has pledged £1.175 million towards the work, which will support the preparatory works, dredging and deepening of areas adjacent to the quayside and approaches at Dales Voe to -16 metres.
A significant dredging project is already underway in Lerwick Harbour in a project to enhance the LPA’s deep-water capabilities.
Contractor Boskalis Westminster Ltd has completed the soft dredge first phase and a second hard dredge phase is now underway.
The quay at Dales Voe is already a deep-water facility that has played a key role in major oil and gas decommissioning projects, including the Ninian Northern production topsides and jacket.
The ultra-deep-water quay will increase the opportunity to secure more of the growing decommissioning sector and the developing offshore renewable sector, providing the UK with a capability to match that found overseas.
It would allow large floating structures to be transferred to the quayside, supporting preparation for installation and maintenance.
Its Shetland area manager Katrina Wiseman said their investment in the project underlined HIE’s commitment to ensuring Shetland remains at the “forefront of the renewable energy transition”.
“The development of an ultra-deep-water quay at Dales Voe will significantly strengthen the region’s infrastructure, supporting the next generation of offshore energy and decommissioning activity,” Wiseman said.
“Further development of enabling infrastructure, coupled with Shetland’s strategic location, infrastructure, skilled workforce and experience, ensure the islands continue to be an attractive location for inward investment and the creation of high-quality jobs.”
LPA chief executive Captain Calum Grains said the project was a “significant investment in the future capability of Lerwick Harbour and the wider Shetland economy”.
“The support from of Highlands and Islands Enterprise has been instrumental in enabling us to deliver infrastructure that will serve the energy industry for decades to come,” he said.
It gives confidence in the harbour’s role as a gateway for growth, and we are proud to be working together to realise that potential.”
Energy secretary Gillian Martin added that this investment would “unlock enormous economic opportunities for Shetland and Scotland as a whole”.
Last month a new decommission partnership involving Peterson and Brown & Mason was announced for the Dales Voe base.
Meanwhile one decommissioning project which has gone elsewhere is the Heather Alpha topsides, with the equipment – which were located to the east of Shetland, currently in transit to Denmark for dismantling.
The Pioneering Spirit heavy lift vessel removed the 15,300 tonne topsides in a single lift, the largest single lift planned in the North Sea this year, operator EnQuest said.
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