Edinburgh residents will be able to see a massive barge and drilling platform travel under the Forth bridges and along the Firth of Forth this week.
The 200-metre long Iron Lady barge will make the journey from the Port of Rosyth to Energy Park Fife in Methil on Thursday, while being towed by three tugs owned by Forth Ports. The vessel will be carrying a topside drilling platform, and this will be unloaded at Methil.
The platform has been berthed at the Port of Rosyth since arriving in what was described as "one of the most remarkable marine operations ever" on April 11.
People watched on across two days as the largest construction vessel in the world – the Allseas' Pioneering Spirit – transferred the topside drilling platform onto the Iron Lady barge, before it was taken along to Rosyth.
However, after six weeks the barge and drilling platform will now depart. The Iron Lady will be decommissioned after the cargo is unloaded.
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At the time of its arrival Stuart Wallace, Chief Operating Office at Forth Ports said: "It was a truly spectacular sight to see this huge vessel offloading its cargo within our deep water on the River Forth. Watching the Iron Lady towed safely into the Port of Rosyth by our tugs against the backdrop of all three Forth crossings was a bit special too.
“However, we can expect to see sights like these more and more frequently as oil and gas decommissioning projects from the North Sea and elsewhere gather momentum."
The time of the operation is subject to weather conditions, and in the event of poor weather the operation may be rescheduled for later in the week
