Giant ship delivers oil platform jacket to Lerwick

The 382m-long Pioneering Spirit arrived at Lerwick Harbour on Friday

One of the world's largest ships has delivered a huge oil platform structure to Lerwick Harbour for decommissioning.

The Pioneering Spirit dropped anchor on Friday after lifting the 8,500-tonne steel jacket from the Ninian Northern field 100 miles north east of Shetland.

The jacket will now be brought ashore at Dales Voe to be broken up, with up to 97% of the steel being recycled. The process will take about eight months.

The decommissioning work is being carried out by Veolia and Peterson.

• Giant oil platform's final voyage ends in Shetland

• Gearing up for the big lift in the North Sea

In 2020, the 382m-long Pioneering Spirit brought the top structure of the Ninian Northern platform to Lerwick for decommissioning.

The operation to bring the steel jacket to the port involved a fleet of support vessels, including tugs, a workboat and barges.

The Pioneering Spirit is the world's largest platform decommissioning vessel

Port Authority chief executive Captain Calum Grains said: "The size of the jacket and the scale of the support fleet is another demonstration of the harbour's established capacity to handle large - and even bigger - decommissioning projects.

"So, too, is the scope to accommodate the 382-metre long and 124-metre wide Pioneering Spirit in manoeuvring in the voe and operating directly at the base, a significant milestone for Lerwick and the UK industry."

He added: "That ability, and the competitiveness of the UK decommissioning and renewables industries, will be further enhanced by our project for an ultra-deep-water quay at Dales Voe, which we are continuing to progress."

The eight-legged Ninian Northern platform was installed in 1978 and began production in 1980. Output ceased in 2017.