PORT of Sunderland has signed a deal that will see it provide vital operational support to one of Scotland’s largest windfarms.

Osprey, a British company that supports Moray East Offshore Windfarm, has agreed a contract with the North East port for it to provide storage solutions for NKT cabling that will eventually lie on the seabed and connect the Scottish offshore station to the shore.

The cables will be stored at a base at Endurance Park, Port of Sunderland on giant spools, before being transported to Moray East, which will meet 40 per cent of Scotland’s energy needs when it is fully developed.

Osprey will take the lead in logistics for the cabling, ensuring it is transported as it’s needed from the port to the offshore windfarm, which lies 22km off the coast of Scotland.

Moray East was the first part of the Moray Firth Zone to be developed, and will have a capacity of 950MW. Work started on its construction in May 2019.

The deal represents a significant step forward for Port of Sunderland, which is well-located to provide support to the offshore sector, given its closeness to the open sea and well-connected storage facilities.

Matthew Hunt, port director at Port of Sunderland, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Osprey, and through them assisting the development of Moray East, one of a number of UK wind farms that is supporting the drive towards carbon neutrality.

“Port of Sunderland is perfectly placed to provide an operational base for businesses that are servicing North Sea windfarms, and we’re pleased that Osprey has seen the vast potential of our facility. We look forward to developing a strong partnership with the team there, as well as Moray East Offshore Windfarm, and we’re sure this is the start of what will be a mutually beneficial relationship as this significant offshore base is developed.”

Osprey – which has a Northern office in Cramlington - works closely with Moray East Windfarm, providing a range of logistics services to support the development of the windfarm, which was granted consent by the Scottish Government in 2014.

Pete Fletcher, a director at Osprey, said: “These cabling baskets are a specialist item, we get them built to our own design. For this contract, we’ve been working with fabricators JW Colpitts, and the Port of Sunderland. It’s rewarding to know that we can be successful in being awarded work in the renewables market partnering with local businesses and offering local content skills.”

It is the latest in a string of positive announcements for the port, which has secured £8.3m of Enterprise Zone funding from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to prepare the ground for investment.