London, Wednesday, 29 December 2021
The load-outs of five floating wind platforms at the Navantia Fene Shipyard in Spain were completed successfully by Mammoet. Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm will include the platforms.
Mammoet was granted the contract for the load-outs of the five floating foundations because they had previously delivered comparable load-out operations at the Navantia Fene Shipyard. The offshore floating industry is currently booming, and the success of these five operations proves Mammoet's ability to keep up with it.
Because of the weight of the platforms, the quay's surface conditions were critical. Mammoet prepped the wharf by putting hundreds of steel plates to level the surface in spots where it had previously been uneven in order to reduce operational risk.
Coordination with diverse stakeholder groups is also important. To complete each task on time, flexibility was also essential. This includes planning each operation to coincide with the correct tidal levels and weather conditions, as well as the availability of the expert seagoing vessel contractor and the Navantia Fene Shipyard.
Mammoet only had a brief window to complete each operation after the wharf was built and the specialised seagoing vessel docked. The floating foundation was put onto the three sets of SPMTs, transferred 100 meters across the dock, and transversely loaded onto the vessel using 54 meters of RoRo ramps, using 100 axle lines of SPMTs distributed between the three columns of the triangle footprint. The load-out was completed once the cargo was emptied and stabilized using sea-fastening equipment. Over the course of several months, Mammoet executed this operation five times successfully.
"Having done similar difficult operations at this dock before, it was a major component in successfully delivering the floating wind platforms on time," says Mammoet Spain Sales Manager Javier De Pablo Arenzana. "In addition to our pool of resources and equipment, this meant we were able to offer our customer a great degree of project schedule flexibility," he explains.
He says, "We believe these capabilities position us well to support the growth of the offshore floating sector."
(Research and reporting by: The Decision Maker)
