The 1.4GW Sofia offshore wind farm is being built by energy firm RWE and, once complete, will be one of the world’s largest single offshore wind farms.

Expected to be operational in 2026, Sofia forms part of the Dogger Bank wind farm project that will boast a combined energy output of 4.8GW.

The Leonardo da Vinci vessel, built by Prysmian, is laying the first sections of high-voltage direct current export cables, which will be used to transport green electricity from the wind farm back to the UK coast.

Prysmian’s 170m-long vessel will operate out of the port of Middlesbrough and will lay two 130km sections of cable in parallel.

It will start its cable-laying work just off the Teesside coast, and one end of each of the two sections of subsea cable will be pulled underwater from the vessel through cable ducts that were installed earlier this year.

The cable will pass below the beach, sand dunes and road before emerging at the landfall construction compound...