Leask Marine ticks another tidal decommissioning job off to-do list

Orkney-based marine specialist Leask Marine has provided its services to tidal developer HydroQuest for a major decommissioning project in France.

Leask Marine provided its services to remove HydroQuest’s 1MW turbine from the test site off Paimpol-Bréhat in Brittany.

The job entailed project management, engineering, and marine operations with the engagement of the North Sea Atlantic vessel.

In association with Tadek, the decommissioning and recovery procedures were developed with all appropriate hazard and operability analysis (HAZOP), risk assessments, and emergency response plans.

The turbine lift, together with the foundation and ballast lifts, were managed on site by Leask marine personnel, with a total of 1500 tons of hardware recovered to surface and offloaded to quayside.

The whole project was successfully delivered in a very tight operational weather window, according to Leask Marine.

To remind, the 1MW turbine was retrieved in late September 2021 after two years of being submerged and operating at the Paimpol-Bréhat site.

After the retrieval, the 1MW turbine – dubbed OceanQuest – was transported to the Port of Cherbourg, for the assessment.