Hinkley Point: floating cranes arrive for cooling project at power station

Gulliver will be used to lower a 5,000 tonne water-cooling system onto the seabed

A floating crane has arrived at Hinkley Point C to lower the new power station's water-cooling system into place on the seabed.

The crane, nicknamed Gulliver, is 354ft (108m) in length and can lift 4,000 tonnes. It arrived on Wednesday via the Bristol Channel.

It is the first of two cranes being brought in for the project, with the second, called Rambiz, set to arrive in the next few days.

Two nuclear reactors are currently being built at the Somerset site.

"This starts a summer of complex offshore operations, with teams working in collaboration to deliver an incredible feat of engineering," said project director Ian Beaumont.

Hinkley Point C is being built by French energy giant EDF with an estimated cost of £25bn to £26bn.

Earlier this year it was announced that it will start operating a year later than planned and will cost an extra £3bn, with EDF saying the delays were down to the impact of the pandemic.