A 60,000-tonne ship that will carry a refloated oil rig from the Western Isles to Turkey has arrived in the Hebrides.

The Transocean Winner rig ran aground on Lewis after breaking free from the boat towing it during a storm on August 8.

It was pulled off the rocks near Carloway two weeks later and taken to Broad Bay on the far side of the island.

The OHT Hawk arrived in Lewis on Wednesday after making a stopover to drop off another rig in the Cromarty Firth.

Later this week, the 16,000-tonne Transocean Winner will begin its last journey on the back of the vessel.

The semi-submersible will sink beneath the water, manoeuvre itself into position below the Transocean Winner then rise back to the surface with the rig on top.

Engineers will then weld the rig to the deck of the ship before it sets off to Turkey, where the 33-year-old vessel will be dismantled.

The OHT Hawk is more than 700ft long, 180ft wide and weighs 60,000 tonnes. Its 18,100 horsepower engines give it a range of nearly 29,000 miles.

Two of the Transocean Winner’s four fuel tanks ruptured in the collision and spilled about 53,000 litres of diesel into the sea. Most of the pollution is believed to have dispersed harmlessly.

Source: stv.tv