A harbour in Moray is set to act as a base for construction work as part of the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm project.

Buckie harbour will be confirmed as a project hub this weekend with the arrival of two vessels involved in the £2.6 billion scheme.

The 160ft Manu-Pekka dredger barge is expected to berth along with the 88ft BKM 103 multicat tug on Sunday, 21 May.

The vessels will spend two to three weeks in Buckie while general maintenance work is carried out and new equipment is fitted before beginning work in the Moray Firth.

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The two ships are being used to excavate a subsea trench to carry transmission cabling from the site of the Beatrice windfarm 35 miles offshore from Buckie. The works will take around three months to complete.

The power cables will make landfall to the west of Portgordon where they will be connected to the new electricity substation currently under construction at Blackhillock, near Keith.

A spokesperson for the council said: "The council continues to support offshore work by offering Buckie harbour as a strategic location for a range of services.

"This latest opportunity is part of ongoing partnership working with the offshore sector and we will continue to expand and develop the services that we are able to offer."

As largest of Moray's harbours, Buckie is seen as having an important role as a support and maintenance base for the offshore renewables industry.

(LM/MH)