DONG Energy has signed a contract with a UK-based Hughes Sub Sea Engineering (Hughes SSE) for the undertaking of a subsea inspection campaign.

Merseyside-based firm will conduct a subsea inspection, examining various components of offshore wind turbine foundations and cabling at DONG Energy offshore wind farms located in Denmark and Germany.

The campaign will comprise a general visual inspection, examining the transition pieces, monopile and boat landing components, located at the foot of offshore wind turbines, as well as inspection of the cable route connecting each turbine to the onshore substation. Work on the campaign will start this month and is expected to last until September later this year.

A spokesperson from Hughes SSE said: “We’re very pleased to sign this contract with the world’s leading offshore wind company. Our engineering expertise in the offshore industry has been honed in the past decade. As UK offshore wind has grown, we have thrived as a company, able to undertake a whole manner of tasks for the industry. This is now an exciting opportunity for us to take these skills to projects across the continent and expand our business.”

The offshore wind farms Hughes SSE will be servicing are Gode Wind 1 and 2 and Borkum Riffgrund located off the north west coast of Germany in the North Sea; and the Anholt offshore wind farm off the north east coast of Denmark.

As part of essential operations and maintenance of offshore wind farms, each project is required to have structural inspections of its foundations undertaken in order to identify any potential maintenance work. Subsea inspection campaigns are routine work and occur every year.