A mighty ship that will “piggy back” a stricken oil rig from the Outer Hebrides to Turkey is expected to arrive today to begin the difficult operation.
The Transocean Winner has been in Broad Bay, on the east side of the Isle of Lewis – where the structure is anchored – for nearly a month.
It had grounded at Dalmore on the west side of the island in a fierce storm on August 8 before being towed to its current location.
Offshore Heavy Transport’s vessel Hawk is already in Scottish waters having taken another rig to an anchorage in the Cromarty Firth in the Highlands.
The 17,000 tonnes Transocean Winner is to be floated on to the deck of the semi-submersible ship.
The operation could take a number of days to complete. The rig, once uploaded on to Hawk, will also be moved to a new location off Stornoway for preparations for the onward long journey to Turkey.
Hawk is a ship designed to move rigs and other large marine structures over long distances.
The drilling rig ran aground at Dalmore, near Carloway, as it was being towed from Norway to Malta, from where it was to be moved to Turkey to be scrapped.
The tow line broke and the rig ran aground on the beach at Dalmore. It was later moved off the beach and towed to Broad Bay.
A number of small tugs will be involved in the operation to float it on to the Hawk.
An investigation into the rig’s grounding has been launched by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.