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Best Viewed From Above, Aberdeen (2026)

29/10/2026

Noble Innovator - South Harbour - October 2026

The Noble Innovator is one of the world’s most advanced and capable ultra harsh environment jack up drilling rigs.

Operating under the fleet of Noble Corporation following its high-profile acquisition from Maersk Drilling, the vessel gained mainstream recognition by becoming the largest item ever to enter the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour in 2023.

Constructed in 2003 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan South Korea, the rig was originally christened the Mærsk Innovator. Unlike standard jack-up designs, CJ70-class rigs are heavily reinforced to withstand extreme weather, massive wave heights and structural vibration during drilling operations in deeper waters.

26/10/2026

RAF Buchan (Now Remote Radar Head Buchan) - October 2026

RAF Buchan was a vital Royal Air Force air defence radar station located near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire.

Opening in 1952 during the height of the Cold War it served for over five decades as a nerve centre for monitoring the UK's northern airspace against Soviet threats. While the manned RAF station officially closed its doors in November 2004 the site remains operational today as Remote Radar Head Buchan, a high-tech unstaffed radar installation controlled from RAF Boulmer.

Throughout the Cold War RAF Buchan was one of two critical Control and Reporting Centres in the UK, the other being RAF Neatishead in Norfolk.

Operators at Buchan routinely tracked Soviet aircraft transiting from northern Russia down toward Cuba. When these aircraft approached the UK Air Policing Area controllers scrambled and tactically guided live armed fighter jets to intercept and es**rt.

In the early 1950s a massive 2 story subterranean R3 bunker was excavated to protect operations from nuclear attack. In 1979 this was heavily refitted and expanded into an "R3A" configuration with blast-proof extensions for life-support systems, massive generators, and air filtration units.

At its operational peak RAF Buchan was the parent station to key remote tracking posts, including RRH Saxa Vord in Shetland and RRH Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Together with civil and military feeds, they compiled the Recognised Air Picture for everything north of Newcastle feeding vital data to NATO allies across Scandinavia.

With advancements in automated radar technology and the collapse of the Soviet Union the Ministry of Defence began consolidating air surveillance. In 2000 it was announced that Buchan would be downsized to an unstaffed facility.

On 1st September 2004 the site lost its status as a full RAF station and became Remote Radar Head Buchan. Staffing levels dropped dramatically and physical operations shifted away entirely by March 2005. Today the active radar sits inside a distinctive, pressurised radome at Stirling Hill feeding automated data straight into the UK Air Surveillance and Control System managed from RAF Boulmer.

In 2015 wind farm developers funded a transition to an advanced AN/TPS-77 radar system to eliminate radar clutter caused by nearby offshore turbines.

Note - 3&5x Optical/digital zoom was used to remain outwith the ring zone.

25/10/2026

RAF Buchan (Now Remote Radar Head Buchan) - October 2026

RAF Buchan was a vital Royal Air Force air defence radar station located near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire.

Opening in 1952 during the height of the Cold War it served for over five decades as a nerve centre for monitoring the UK's northern airspace against Soviet threats. While the manned RAF station officially closed its doors in November 2004 the site remains operational today as Remote Radar Head Buchan, a high-tech unstaffed radar installation controlled from RAF Boulmer.

Throughout the Cold War RAF Buchan was one of two critical Control and Reporting Centres in the UK, the other being RAF Neatishead in Norfolk.

Operators at Buchan routinely tracked Soviet aircraft transiting from northern Russia down toward Cuba. When these aircraft approached the UK Air Policing Area controllers scrambled and tactically guided live armed fighter jets to intercept and es**rt.

In the early 1950s a massive 2 story subterranean R3 bunker was excavated to protect operations from nuclear attack. In 1979 this was heavily refitted and expanded into an "R3A" configuration with blast-proof extensions for life-support systems, massive generators, and air filtration units.

At its operational peak RAF Buchan was the parent station to key remote tracking posts, including RRH Saxa Vord in Shetland and RRH Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides. Together with civil and military feeds, they compiled the Recognised Air Picture for everything north of Newcastle feeding vital data to NATO allies across Scandinavia.

With advancements in automated radar technology and the collapse of the Soviet Union the Ministry of Defence began consolidating air surveillance. In 2000 it was announced that Buchan would be downsized to an unstaffed facility.

On 1st September 2004 the site lost its status as a full RAF station and became Remote Radar Head Buchan. Staffing levels dropped dramatically and physical operations shifted away entirely by March 2005. Today the active radar sits inside a distinctive, pressurised radome at Stirling Hill feeding automated data straight into the UK Air Surveillance and Control System managed from RAF Boulmer.

In 2015 wind farm developers funded a transition to an advanced AN/TPS-77 radar system to eliminate radar clutter caused by nearby offshore turbines.

Note - 3&5x Optical/digital zoom was used to remain outwith the ring zone.

24/10/2026

Log Loading Scot Navigator Aberdeen South Harbour - October 2026

Log loading onto the Scot Navigator at Aberdeen South Harbour.

23/10/2026

Ineos FPS Cruden Bay Pumping Station - October 2026

The Cruden Bay Booster Station (often referred to as the Cruden Bay pumping or booster station) is the first shore-based facility on the landward section of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS).

Key Information & Specifications

• Location: Nether Broadmuir, about 1 mile west-southwest of Whinnyfold near Cruden Bay.

• Owner/Operator: Owned and operated by INEOS which was acquired from BP in 2017 as part of a $250 million deal for the entire FPS network.

• Primary Function: It receives the subsea oil and gas liquids mixture coming ashore from the North Sea via a 105 mile 36-inch diameter subsea pipeline from the Forties Charlie and Unity platforms.

• Gas Integration: At this station the incoming crude is mixed with natural gas liquids sent via a 15 mile pipeline from the nearby St. Fergus Gas Terminal.

• Onward Journey: The combined product is pumped south through a 130 mile 36-inch underground landline toward the Kinneil Terminal near Grangemouth. Further booster stations along this land route are located at Netherley, Brechin, and Balbeggie.

INEOS upgraded the Cruden Bay booster pumping station as part of a £500 million modernisation program to extend its operational life into the 2040s and beyond. The removal of older equipment and processes as well as improved pig launching system.

20/10/2026

Stirling Castle, Scotland - October 2026

Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s grandest and historically most significant fortresses.

Perched on a 350 million year old volcanic rock it sits at a critical geographic crossroads where the Scottish Lowlands meet the Highlands.

Because he who controlled the castle controlled passage through the country, it became the country's most heavily besieged stronghold and the ultimate prize during the Wars of Scottish Independence.

By the late 15th century the Stewart dynasty began shifting Stirling’s purpose from an austere defensive military base to a royal palace. It served as the primary childhood home and coronation site for several monarchs, including Mary Queen of Scots who was crowned in the Chapel Royal in 1543.

Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603 the royals departed for London and Stirling’s architectural golden era slowed. In 1651 Oliver Cromwell’s army successfully besieged the garrison. By the 18th century and following the final Jacobite uprisings the British government converted the grand palaces into heavily fortified artillery barracks.

The military finally vacated the castle in 1964. Today managed by Historic Environment Scotland, Stirling Castle has undergone massive historical restorations to return the Great Hall and Royal Palaces to their 16th-century splendour making it one of the premier cultural attractions in the country.

Open all year round with guided tours its well worth a visit.

20/10/2026

Ineos FPS Cruden Bay Pumping Station - October 2026

The Cruden Bay Booster Station (often referred to as the Cruden Bay pumping or booster station) is the first shore-based facility on the landward section of the Forties Pipeline System (FPS).

Key Information & Specifications

• Location: Nether Broadmuir, about 1 mile west-southwest of Whinnyfold near Cruden Bay.

• Owner/Operator: Owned and operated by INEOS which was acquired from BP in 2017 as part of a $250 million deal for the entire FPS network.

• Primary Function: It receives the subsea oil and gas liquids mixture coming ashore from the North Sea via a 105 mile 36-inch diameter subsea pipeline from the Forties Charlie and Unity platforms.

• Gas Integration: At this station the incoming crude is mixed with natural gas liquids sent via a 15 mile pipeline from the nearby St. Fergus Gas Terminal.

• Onward Journey: The combined product is pumped south through a 130 mile 36-inch underground landline toward the Kinneil Terminal near Grangemouth. Further booster stations along this land route are located at Netherley, Brechin, and Balbeggie.

INEOS upgraded the Cruden Bay booster pumping station as part of a £500 million modernisation program to extend its operational life into the 2040s and beyond. The removal of older equipment and processes as well as improved pig launching system.

18/10/2026

Peterhead Industrial Areas at Night - October 2026

Peterhead is one of the north east of Scotland’s most critical commercial hubs. Historically anchored by its world renowned fishing port the town’s economic landscape features a deeply integrated mix of offshore oil and gas supply operations, engineering fabrication, logistics and emerging renewable energy sector with the recent developments ongoing for the next 6 years.

Much of this commercial output is driven by key industrial estates strategically placed around the periphery of the town with new development happening across the town and outskirts.

Here are a few aerial pictures of these areas at night showing them in a different prospective.

&gas

17/10/2026

MSV Seawell - Aberdeen South Harbour - October 2026

The MSV Seawell is a UK multi-service vessel renowned as the pioneering workhorse of the North Sea offshore oil and gas industry. Widely described as the offshore market's first true "Swiss Army Knife," it created the modern subsea Light Well Intervention market. It has consistently proved that complex subsea operations could be performed from a highly efficient mono hull vessel rather than a costly semi-submersible platform.

Currently owned by Helix Group & operated via its Helix Well Ops unit the vessel remains actively deployed in subsea construction, saturation diving and riserless well operations across the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Originally named the Stena Seawell its keel was laid in Sunderland UK. Upon entering service in 1987, it set an instant benchmark as the world’s most sophisticated multi-functional offshore support vessel famously becoming the first in its class to utilise an electrical propulsion system.

Over its nearly four-decade career, it has undergone several rebranding operating as the Stena Seawell until 1995, CSO Seawell until 2002 before becoming the MSV Seawell. It has achieved a number of global maritime firsts:

* 1987 - Conducted its first-ever live well intervention from a mono-hull vessel at the BP Magnus field.
* 1988 - Credited with officially launching the North Sea commercial light well intervention sector.
* 1995/1996 - Completed the world's first installation of a replacement subsea tree from a Dynamically Positioned (DP) mono-hull vessel.
* 1998 - Executed the world's first wireline intervention on a horizontal subsea tree at Amoco Exploration's Arkwright Field.
* 2001 - Completed the first mono-hull well intervention in Norwegian waters at the Tommeliten field.
* 2016 - Returned to service following a massive £60 million upgrade at the Damen yard in the Netherlands. The overhaul included re-engineering with 6 Rolls-Royce engines to heavily boost performance & fulfil modern DP2 redundancies.

The vessel's staying power relies on its uniquely integrated subsea tech suite:
* Features a purpose-built derrick tower positioned directly over the moonpool. The MHS can deploy 5-inch and 7-inch Subsea Intervention Lubricator systems to water depths of 500 meters.
* Built-in twin-bell saturation diving system rated down to 300 meters which comfortably accommodates an 18 man dive team.
* Employs a main winch rated for 150mt operating with Active & Passive Heave Compensation to minimise ocean swell movement alongside an additional 45mt subsea AHC crane.
* Equipped with twin ROV capability.

&gas

15/10/2026

Sea Shepherd - Pilot Boat - Port of Aberdeen - Best Viewed From Above

Commissioned by the Aberdeen Harbour Board the Sea Shepherd was built by the renowned Macduff Shipyards in Aberdeenshire.

The vessel was designed by Murray Cormack, evolving from their highly successful "NorthBay 17" hull design.

The primary design prompt called for an exceptionally rugged craft capable of handling the severe, choppy sea conditions found just outside the Aberdeen breakwater. To meet this requirement, Murray Cormack developed a single-chine displacement hull specifically optimized to operate stern-to the seas. This safety feature ensures the boat remains highly stable while transferring marine pilots to and from commercial vessels.

Sea Shepherd works alongside its sister vessel, Sea Haven. Beyond its primary pilotage role, the boat performs general harbor duties, including crew transport to ships anchored offshore and light pushing/pulling of larger commercial hulls within tight dock confines.

In November 2025 the Port issued an Invitation to Tender for the Procurement of new Pilot Boat (s). Today they are still assessing and evaluating all options available to them such as the serviceable life and potential replacements but thus far no award has been issued.