GustoMSC, a subsidiary of U.S.-based NOV, has officially launched the Enhydra series of vessels tailored specifically for floating offshore wind farms.
Alain Wassink, Commercial Director of GustoMSC, presented the new series at The Stage during the Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC) 2023 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
The vessel was described as a strategic enabler for floating offshore wind, the asset to build around the installation campaign, combining the subsea construction vessel and anchor handling capabilities, supplemented with modular equipment packages to enable those different roles within the same vessel platform in an efficient way.
Wassink noted that with the accelerated development of commercial-scale floating wind farms, it is time to think about the installation and maintenance side of it, and this is where the Enhydra design series comes in.
According to GustoMSC , the commercialization of floating offshore wind farms requires robust installation and operations and maintenance strategies, and with efficient, capable and reliable solutions to implement these strategies, Enhydra brings just that.
Wassink said that two key things needed for the installation of commercial-scale floating offshore wind are installation capabilities and logistics.
Installation capabilities include handling multiple types of anchoring systems and mooring lines, hook-up of the floater to the mooring system, and installing dynamic cables in a range of water depths.
Some vessels have those capabilities, Wassink acknowledged but also emphasized the importance of logistics as the efficiency comes from, for example, how many turbine sets can be taken and how many foundations can be taken.
According to Wassink, this is the main differentiator with the “classic” SCV and AHTS designs and is a key to commercial-scale offshore wind.
Explaining how to do the logistics and where the installation capabilities come in, Wassink said the process includes the mooring installation, assembly of the turbines, and their tow out.
In that period, a change of the setup of the vessel could be done, Wassink pointed out, adding that to be able to do that and to make it efficient is to “have it predesigned and make sure you are ready to receive all the equipment that you need for that and make that mobilization also efficient.”
From there, the vessel goes to the field, and the floaters are brought to it, Wassink further explained, adding that when the floater is in the field “you pull in the mooring system, tension it up, then install the dynamic cable.” In the meantime, tugs can go for the next floater, making the process repeatable and efficient.
At the presentation, Wassink also showed the setup of preassembled cables on a reel that can be brought in and brought out for quick loading in ports, pointing out that the company expects the vertical lay system to probably be the most efficient method.
As for the maintenance part, Wassink said the company is working on a vessel that will be able to provide a level of connectivity in the floating wind as the one used in the fixed one.
Watch the full session “GustoMSC – the Enhydra series, vessels for floating offshore wind” in the video below:
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