Osbit has delivered a hybrid monopile cleaning tool to Van Oord, designed to support the installation of offshore wind turbine foundations.
Van Oord is using the Hybrid Marine Growth Cleaning Tool at the Walney 3 & 4 offshore wind farm sites in the Irish Sea, where the company is in charge of installing 87 monopiles for DONG Energy.
Osbit’s system was designed in collaboration with Van Oord, at its offices in Riding Mill, Northumberland and manufactured in the North East of England with the support of its local supply chain. The system has been delivered to a strict 12-week schedule, to ensure the installation programme can begin on time.
The tool offers combined monopile cleaning, anode cage lifting and installation down to 30m water depth, along with monopile survey and measurement capabilities, Osbit said.
To ensure the monopiles are sufficiently prepared for grouting and the installation of the transition pieces, the tool utilises a suite of 10 rotating cleaning heads to prepare the monopile surface to fit the transition piece. The system’s cleaning heads are adaptable, to enable effective cleaning of the tapered monopiles, which have an increasing diameter of six to eight metres.
Previously, each of these tasks would require the use of individual systems, which would increase the duration and complexity of the installation programme.
Brendon Hayward , Managing Director of Osbit Ltd, said: “Working closely with Van Oord, we have developed an innovation to deliver new levels of operational efficiency for offshore wind foundation installations. Its hybrid capabilities combine three systems, to significantly cut installation timescales and deliver cost-savings, key targets for the industry, particularly in the current climate.”
“Our engineers applied their expertise in the subsea and renewables sectors to devise a solution that not only meets operational requirements, but was delivered to an accelerated design and build schedule to enable it to be deployed on the Walney project.”
Adriaan van Oord , Operations Manager from Van Oord Offshore Wind B.V, said: “We are committed to creating ingenious solutions to improve operational efficiencies in the offshore wind sector; in this project, Osbit has succeeded in developing an innovative system moulded to suit our operational requirements, which has been delivered within a challenging time-scale.”