Seal spotted at Moray West offshore wind farm

Workers installing turbines at the 882MW Moray West offshore wind farm off the Moray Firth have welcomed an unexpected guest – a seal.

Several crew members aboard the Wind Orca installation vessel have spotted the as-yet unnamed mammal bobbing around the turbines’ foundations over the course of the last week.

Crew members have stated that the seal has been contributing little to the ongoing work at the project, preferring to sleep and bob in the water instead.

A representative of Ocean Winds, the project’s developer, noted that the video clip demonstrates how offshore wind farms can co-exist with marine mammals, even during installation work.

According to them, the seal may be attracted to fish using the wind turbine foundation as a refuge that it may be feeding on.

“Seals are also known to be inquisitive, so the new structure and the activity around the vessel may have attracted its interest, though the interest seems to have waned given the amount of time it seems to be asleep,” the spokesperson noted.

Ocean Winds has implemented several initiatives at Moray West to minimise the effect it has on marine animals.

These include ensuring temporary covers are placed on underwater openings on the foundations prior to cable pull-ins.

The company also said that it uses a “low order deflagration” technique to dispose of unexploded ordnance discovered on the seabed around the wind farm and cable routes – a common problem in the North Sea. This helps reduce underwater noise compared to standard disposal techniques.

In addition, contractors Deme and Boskalis used new vibrohammers to install Moray West’s monopile foundations, reducing above and below water noise compared to standard impact hammers, reducing disturbance risk to marine mammals.

© Supplied by Ocean Winds

The Moray West seal visited the project as turbine installation work passed the halfway point. As of the start of the week, 32 of the wind farm’s 60 turbines have been installed by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and their installation contractor, Cadeler.

An Ocean Wind spokesperson said installation work is progressing according to schedule, with final installation due in the autumn.

Since installing the first 14.7MW Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD turbine in April, the project reached the first power milestone last month.

It is expected to become fully operational in 2025 in line with the originally projected commercial operations date.