Seaways Heavy Lifting and Siem Offshore have, on behalf of Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL), started the installation of inter-array cables at the Beatrice offshore wind farm, off Caithness coast.

The cable laying vessel (CLV) Siem Aimery will install up to 24 inter-array cables during the first cable installation campaign. Working in parallel with the CLV Siem Aimery will be the cable support vessel (CSV) Siem Stingray.

The Siem Stingray will undertake the personnel transfer to WTG foundations, crane operations to transfer equipment to/from WTG foundations, work-class ROV activities at the seabed, and survey activities along the planned inter-array cable routes linking the appropriate WTG foundations.

Cable burial will be undertaken by a tracked jet trencher launched from the Siem Aimery.

The Beatrice will be operated from a base in Wick and capable of providing enough energy to power up to 450,000 homes, when fully operational by the end of 2019.