Top News of the Week, 31 Oct – 6 Nov 2016

Bladt Industries: Uniform Jacket Foundation Design Would Save Money (Interview)

A standardised design of jacket foundations would greatly contribute to offshore wind cost reduction, according to Jan Kjærsgaard, CEO of Bladt Industries, a company whose foundations are supporting numerous turbines installed in European waters.

ZPMC Found Responsible for Greater Gabbard Monopile Cracks

The Technology and Construction Court in London has ruled that cracking discovered on some of the 140 monopiles built by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Ltd (ZPMC) for the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm ”was largely a result of various failures by ZPMC to maintain correct preheat temperature of the welds to the monopiles.”

First Unmanned Offshore Service Vessel Coming in 2018

UK-based Automated Ships Ltd and Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build the world’s first unmanned and fully-automated vessel for offshore operations.

Boskalis to Start Laying Off Employees in November

The trade union CNV Vakmensen has agreed to the social plan related to Royal Boskalis Westminister’s fleet rationalization, announced in July.

Heerema Fabrication Group Cuts 450 Jobs

The Netherlands-based Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG) plans to lay off 450 of the existing 770 employees at the company’s head office in Zwijndrecht, as well as at its yards in the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Poland, partly due to ”the combination of price pressure and unfavourable contractual conditions in the wind energy market”.