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A ship which will collect data in the Celtic Sea ahead of the deployment of a 4GW floating offshore wind farm has set sail from Swansea. The marine survey vessel is the first in a series to be launched by The Crown Estate and will gather data on the seabed and sub-seabed.

The data will then be shared with the private companies chosen to build the wind farm, in an effort to speed up the rollout by removing barriers and risks to the development.

The first vessel, operated by geo-specialists Fugro with a crew of 30, set sail from Swansea docks. It will spend around 100 days in the Celtic Sea using towed and hull-mounted sensors to gather data on the properties of the seabed and sub-seabed.

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The Celtic Sea is located in the Atlantic ocean between southern Ireland, south west Wales and the south west of England. The authority will monitor wind and wave patterns as well as identify marine habitats to understand best turbine sites.

Surveys will be conducted over the next two years, with datasets available to both The Crown Estate and the successful developers. It follows news that four proposed locations have been chosen in the Celtic Sea for the development.

Nicola Clay, head of new ventures at The Crown Estate, said: “After many months of careful preparation and planning, these surveys mark an exciting step forward for our plans to establish new floating wind technology of the coast of Wales and South West England. By better understanding the physical and environmental properties of the proposed sites, we are able to help remove some of the barriers and risks developers face when moving through the planning process, while also helping assess and manage any environmental impacts.

“Over the last 25 years the º£½ÇÊÓƵ has firmly established itself at the forefront of the global offshore renewables industry. Floating offshore wind is the next exciting chapter in this story, and has a vital role play in strengthening our energy security, supporting our transition away from fossil fuels, and generating real value for the º£½ÇÊÓƵ. We look forward to bringing this new opportunity in the Celtic Sea to market later this year.”

Gerard Ferreira, Service Line Manager at Fugro º£½ÇÊÓƵ, said: “Our high-resolution technologies combined with our team of experts will provide a turnkey solution to The Crown Estate in the acquisition of the various site-specific data sets. This critical data will help to de-risk the area for future development, supporting the move to clean energy in the United Kingdom.”