Houlder’s TAS successfully completes trials
Houlder and Southampton based design consultancy BMT Nigel Gee have announced that their jointly developed Turbine Access System (TAS) has successfully completed offshore trials.
The TAS was fitted to Turbine Transfer’s Cemlyn Bay for a four week period at RWE’s Rhyl Flats offshore windfarm. The lightweight motion TAS gangway increases the level of safety and operability and can be fitted to a range of existing Windfarm Support Vessels without the need for a host vessel, making it a secure but flexible platform for offshore windfarm operators and developers.
Hazel Phillips, general manager of Turbine Transfers said, “We have been very impressed by the performance of the TAS and believe that this provides a step change in transfer safety and operability.”
The vessel made several trips to the RWE site, 8 km north west of Llandudno, Wales, despite experiencing wave heights of up to 1.8m. The TAS successfully provided maintenance personnel with a stable transfer platform to the offshore wind turbine.
Further assessments of the TAS have been planned as RWE, supported by the Carbon Trust, has shown interest in undertaking further trials.
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