Heerema Marine Contractors has awarded Huisman a contract to deliver a Motion Compensated Pile Gripper (MCPG) for use in offshore wind farm construction.
Designed specifically for Heerema’s semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) Thialf , the MCPG will enable Heerema to install monopiles up to 12.5 metres in diameter, with a length of up to 115 metres, and a weight of 3,200 tonnes.
The design and construction of the gripper will be a combined effort carried out at Huisman’s locations in the Czech Republic and in the Netherlands.
Once manufactured, the MCPG will be positioned on the side of the vessel.
This will be the third MCPG to be built by Huisman after a similar one was installed on DEME’s installation vessel, Orion .
At the beginning of this year, Thialf , operated by Heerema Marine Contractors, underwent several modifications to be able to work on projects in the Baltic Sea such as the Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm.
The vessel was deployed on several projects, including the 1,075 MW Seagreen offshore wind farm in Scotland where Thialf was responsible for the installation of the project’s substation topside.