A 30-metre pontoon at Aberdeen Harbour's Albert Basin will support a new gateway for Scotland's renewables industry, its builders say.

Swedish energy firm Vattenfall completed the construction project this week as part of a 24-year agreement with the Harbour Board.

The pontoon, which can accommodate three vessels at a time, will initially be used to transfer crew to and from Vattenfall's European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) and then as a marine support base.

Adam Ezzamel, EOWDC project director at Vattenfall, said: "An integral part of developing offshore wind farms is safe access to the wind turbines for the commissioning and on-going operations and maintenance phase.

"This involves regular planned and ad hoc visits of technicians to inspect, maintain and service the offshore infrastructure.

"The mooring pontoon will provide a safe means of embarking and disembarking the crew transfer vessel which shuttle technicians to the EOWDC offshore site, Scotland's largest offshore wind test and demonstration facility.

"As a result, we are pleased it will also become a new renewables asset for the harbour and support the development of the region's marine renewables industry."

Aberdeen Harbour's commercial director, Matt North, added: "We are delighted to be providing a marine support base for this important development, and this initiative represents the port's first long-term agreement in support of an offshore wind project."