Aberdeen shipping firm wins £270m wind farm deal

A computer-generated image of the three ships planned for Dogger Bank

An Aberdeen shipping firm has won contracts worth an estimated £270m to supply support vessels for a giant North Sea offshore wind farm.

Under the deal, North Star Renewables will provide three service operation vessels (SOVs) for the planned 3.6GW Dogger Bank project.

They will be delivered from mid-2023, ahead of the wind farm's first phase.

North Star plans to create 130 new UK-based jobs in crewing and shore-based roles for the lifetime of the contract.

The new positions will be based across Scotland and the north east of England.

'Employment opportunities'

Recruitment for the roles will start one year ahead of vessel delivery to Dogger Bank's planned operations base in Port of Tyne.

The wind farm - which will be located more than 130km (80 miles) off the north east coast of England - is being developed by joint venture partners SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni.

Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: "This contract is a welcome example of our domestic supply chain benefiting from the operation and maintenance of an offshore wind project off our coastline, bringing jobs and employment opportunities to communities in Scotland."