Wind of change: Reviving the UK's shipyards

Dawn is beginning to break in Cornwall and the Leviathan and Kraken, two grand vessels, sit patiently awaiting their departure from the historic Falmouth docks. Both veterans of the rough seas, they have battled extreme conditions in the search for oil and gas, and now, perhaps for the final time, they are being re-armoured for what will be one of their most challenging missions to date.

The crew has less than two days to prepare the ships for their journey to the Irish Sea, where they will install 51 wind turbines for the Walney 2 offshore wind farm. It’s a difficult task that will stretch the vessels, as well as the engineers on board, beyond anything they have experienced on previous oil and gas operations. With the sun coming up and the final touches still to be made, the dockyard transforms into a frenzy of hard hats and high-vis jackets.

“The whole industry is still adapting… we can learn a lot from offshore platforms”