Largest vessel to visit Aberdeen dominates city skyline

A vessel described as the largest ever to berth in Aberdeen is now dominating the city skyline.

The Noble Innovator offshore rig is 205m (673ft) high.

It arrived at the new Aberdeen South Harbour at the weekend, drawing spectators, and it can be seen from miles along the coast.

Noble Innovator is in for maintenance, and once that is completed the mobile rig will be involved with decommissioning work in the North Sea.

For comparison, the rig is more than twice the height of Big Ben's tower (95m), and it's taller even than Blackpool Tower (158m) and London's Gherkin building (180m).

The £400m work to make a new deeper and larger harbour is the largest marine infrastructure project in the UK.

It will also be able to accommodate cruise ships.

Roddy James, chief commercial officer for the Port of Aberdeen, said: "It's exciting to welcome new types and sizes of vessels to the port, be that from oil and gas, renewables, cargo, or cruise.

"South Harbour's tidally unrestricted deepwater berths, extensive laydown space and heavy lift capacity, make Aberdeen an attractive option for larger vessels.

"The expanded Port of Aberdeen, across North Harbour and South Harbour, now offers customers even greater flexibility for their projects, with a focus on reducing risk, adding value, and minimising cost."

Claus Bachmann, vice president of operations for Noble Corporation, said the new harbour facilities had made it possible for one of its rigs to visit Aberdeen for the first time.

"The Noble Innovator is stopping by for a so-called special periodic survey which rigs must undergo every five years to ensure that we are able to operate safely, and which will involve multiple local suppliers in the extensive maintenance scope," he said.