Wind turbine installation vessels move to the next generation
An artist’s impression of MPI Adventure, currently under build in China. The announcement recently of the awarding of the contract to install the foundations and turbines for phase one of the London Array windfarm will see the debut of the first of two next generation wind turbine installation vessels currently under construction in China.
Offshore installation company MPI, through a wholly owned subsidiary and the Danish company A2SEA, will provide two vessels for the installation of 175 turbines with a combined capacity of 630MW.
In the UK alone nine offshore windfarms are now active, five are under construction, twelve have consent either authorised or submitted and thirteen are at an early planning stage, including eleven in Scottish waters. These are in addition to the potential developments in the nine recently announced round three licensing zones.
The complex supply chain challenges faced by the industry include the availability of suitable installation vessels. Much of the work of installing foundations and turbines is currently being carried out by conventional jack-ups and other vessels, adapted for the new role. Offshore windfarm development is clearly now well established, with huge potential demand for all sections of the associated industries and there have been a number of orders recently from those willing to invest in the future in the form of sophisticated next generation vessels primarily designed to install windfarms but also with the flexibility to adapt to other offshore roles.
Yorkshire based MPI Offshore recognised the potential early in the story with their introduction early in 2004 of the world’s first turbine transport and installation vessel, the Mayflower Resolution. Now named MPI Resolution, in 2006 the vessel became part of a company jointly owned by the Vroon Group BV and the original MPI management team.
Vroon have now returned to China for two new DPII class installation vessels based on the same concept as the MPI Resolution, hence a self propelled jack-up with a conventional ship’s hull as opposed to the more usual non-propelled jack-up and US liftboat style of installation vessels currently in operation.
The two ships are currently under construction at Cosco Nantong in China. Both are slightly larger than their predecessor with a number of enhancements which include a 1,000t lift crane compared to the 300t version on the MPI Resolution. The first, MPI Adventure, is due to enter service on the London Array contract in April 2011. The second vessel is due in service in the autumn of 2011. A2SEA will be providing the jack-up barge Sea Worker around the same time for the work.
Other recent orders for self propelled installation vessels include one firm and two options from RWE Innogy with Daewoo Shipbuilding for delivery in 2011 and a two vessel order from Fred. Olsen Windcarrier with UAE based Lamprell plc, with deliveries due in 2012.
Also worthy of mention are Seajacks Kraken and Seajacks Leviathan, two self propelled jack-ups that entered service for Seajacks UK Ltd in 2009. Built by Lamprell plc, both are designed with the installation of offshore wind turbines very much in mind. By Peter Barker
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