Ardersier Port owner Haventus announces start of dredging operations on the site
Operations to dredge the approach channel and inner harbour at Ardersier Port are set to get under way this week, port owners have announced.
Haventus, the company behind the construction of Ardersier Energy Transition Facility (ETF) said works will deepen and widen the harbour and approach channel to ensure that once the port is open, the vessels carrying offshore wind components can access the quayside.
The dredging campaign is expected to take place between the start of April and concluding during summer, with 24/7 operations.
A Haventus spokesperson said this is a milestone operations ahead of the planned opening of the facility in late 2025.
They said: “The dredging will take place using a large dredging vessel accompanied by three or four vessels which will carry material from the dredging site to the licenced deposit site offshore.
“The dredged material will be used in a number of ways: some of the material will be brought onshore and stored for future use on the development of Ardersier ETF Some of the material will be used to restore inner harbour areas of the spit at Whiteness, which were impacted by operations from the days of the site's use as an oil and gas fabrication yard.
“Restoration works are being carried out following consultation with NatureScot. Material will also be used to nourish Whiteness Sands at the west end of the site. The balance of material will be deposited at a licensed offshore deposit site, 2km offshore, near Burghead .”
They added that the dredged material will also be transported from the dredging vessel to the onshore storage area at Ardersier ETF via a temporary pipeline system. The material will be dewatered for future onsite use.
“All dredging activity takes place within our statutory harbour authority area,” they added. “The operations will be carried out using large and modern vessels, as this will mean the operation can be carried out with as few vessel movements as possible, and concluding the campaign in the shortest duration possible.
“Haventus is conscious of the important bottlenose dolphin population of the Moray Firth, and is working with academics from the University of Aberdeen and the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St Andrews University to monitor the dolphin population before, during and after the dredging operations to assess how operations such as these interact with marine mammals. This will involve using a real-time monitoring technology which has never been used before in Scottish waters.”
