News in brief

Incat Crowther 32 ofers a step-change in China

China’s frst purpose-built catamaran CTV, the Incat Crowther 32, is under constructon at AFAI Southern Shipyard. To be operated by Goldsea Marine & Ofshore Engineering, the vessel will support China’s growing ofshore windfarm sector. The Incat Crowther 32 will represent a step-change in vessel capability in the area, ofering stability, performance, and functonality unmatched by vessels currently serving the industry. Incat Crowther has collaborated with the operator to develop a bespoke design, based on a semi-SWATH platorm. The platorm ofers stability in big seas and a comfortable ride for personnel. The vessel will be propelled with controllable-pitch propellers ofering excellent fuel economy and 20t bollard pull. Incat Crowther’s Resilient Bow Technology minimises impact loads at the wind turbine boat landings and reduces onboard acceleratons. This combined with the high bollard pull will provide a transfer wave height in excess of 2m.

i. incatcrowther.com

New drone-based lightning protecton system testng soluton

Sulzer Schmid and Enertrag Betrieb have teamed up to provide a new wind turbine blade inspecton soluton that integrates Enertrag Betrieb’s lightning protecton systems (LPS) testng soluton with Sulzer Schmid’s UAV technology and digital inspecton platorm. This key innovaton will enable LPS testng to be carried out at the same tme as rotor blade inspectons, saving operators and owners tme and money. According to experts, each wind turbine has an extremely high probability of being struck by lightning every year. TLPS testng is thus an essental component of wind turbine inspectons. Enertrag Betrieb has developed an innovatve and realistc process for LPS testng, using an intermitent AC voltage of up to 6,000V, which is much closer to the reality of a lightning strike than previous measurements of just 24V. The two companies have co-developed a non-contact testng soluton by mountng the LPS measuring equipment onto the DJI M300 RTK blade inspecton drone, and integratng the results within Sulzer Schmid’s 3DX Blade Platorm. The development of the prototype and its test phase has been completed and the product feasibility has been proven in a recent study.

i. sulzerschmid.com

2 – 5 May 2022Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2022 Houston, TX, USA2022.otcnet.org23 – 25 November 2021WindEurope Electric City Copenhagen Copenhagen, DenmarkWindeurope.org/electriccity2021 10 – 13 January 2022Nor-Shipping 2022 Oslo, NorwayNor-shipping.com1 – 4 February 2022SPE Offshore Europe 2022 Aberdeen, Scotlandoffshore-europe.co.uk22 – 25 March 2022Offshore Technology Conference Asia (OTC Asia) 2022 Kuala Lumpur, Maleisië 2022.otcasia.org Offshore Events 15 – 18 November 2021 ADIPEC 2021Abu Dhabi, UAE Adipec.com

November January February March May

NEWS IN BRIEF

Fugro completes geohazard site investgaton in Suriname

Fugro has fnalised feldwork on a site investgaton programme for Total Energies of the north-west coast of Paramaribo in Block 58 of the Guyana-Suriname Basin. The project sits approximately 150km ofshore in water depths ranging from 60m to 2,100m and involves acquisiton and analysis of geophysical data and geotechnical soil samples. Fugro will use this informaton to characterise site conditons and identfy potental geohazards, helping the client to derisk potental development actvites. The nearly seven-month-long feld programme was accomplished from the Fugro Brasilis using an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for most of the geophysical data collecton and piston and box corers for the seabed soil sampling. To streamline project delivery and reduce the carbon footprint, Fugro performed inital data processing and laboratory testng onboard the vessel.

i. fugro.com

Dragon Class – next-generaton marine energy power plants

Featuring increased performance and decreased manufacturing costs, the Dragon Class is a new range of power plants of Minesto’s ground-breaking Deep Green marine energy technology. It evolves from the grid-connected Deep Green systems Minesto has installed and operated in Vestmannasund, Faroe Islands. The Dragon Class design scales efectvely and will thus be available in diferent sizes tailored for maximum yield, depending on site conditons such as water fow rate and depth. By combining diferent wing spans, generator sizes, and tether lengths, Minesto can ofer Dragon Class power plants that are customised to diferent applicatons and customer needs. Product models are distnguished by the size of the wing. The current product range in development stretches from Dragon 4 (4m wing) to Dragon 12 (12m wing), with rated power ranging from 50kW to 1.2MW. Minesto’s technology development team has been able to improve the energy conversion and at the same tme refne the power plant by reducing the number of power plant subsystems and components. This results in signifcantly higher power producton performance and by reducing the number of components, costs for manufacturing and assembly are decreased. In additon, it simplifes handling during installaton and maintenance.

i. minesto.com

Pondera and SolarDuck sign agreement for developing 555MW of ofshore solar projects

Pondera and SolarDuck signed a memorandum of understanding detailing the development of 555MW of ofshore solar projects over the coming years. The companies plan to develop these projects between 2023 and 2025. Near term projects shall be in the Netherlands, while those further into the future will be located in SouthEast Asia. While both companies have their headquarters in the Netherlands, they have a shared global ambiton to make a tangible diference in climate change and contributng to global sustainable energy goals. Pondera, founded in 2007, has been involved in more than 10GW of renewable energy projects, of which over 3GW is operatonal and another 3GW under constructon. The company has seen steep growth over the past years and is gearing up to become a key player in the South-East Asian market. SolarDuck was founded by a group of likeminded maritme and energy professionals, who found a way to generate solar power ofshore at utlity scale. Their patented and certfed technology is robust, scalable, and able to withstand sea conditons and hurricane force winds. This technology allows for solar energy to be generated at sea, which opens a new and very promising market.

i. solarduck.tech

| Read more on ofshore-industry.eu

NEWS IN BRIEF

Norwind Ofshore places orders with Vard

Fincanteri’s Vard subsidiary has booked a signifcant order from Norwind Ofshore, a new ofshore windfarm support company that, like Vard, is based in Ålesund, Norway. Vard will design and construct two commissioning service operatons vessels (CSOVs), with optons for two more, and convert one platorm supply vessel into a service operaton vessel (SOV). The frst delivery, set for Q2 2022, will be the SOV created by the conversion of a Vard 1 08 design PSV with a length of 81m and a beam of 18m. It has been in operaton in Asia and Australia, and will now sail to Vard Bratvaag in Norway for an extensive conversion and outitng. The two CSOVs are of Vard 4 19 design and they are tailor-made for worldwide services and maintenance operatons at ofshore windfarms. The Vard 4 19 design is a highly versatle platorm focusing on onboard logistcs, security, comfort, and superior operability. The 85m vessels have a beam of 19.5m. The frst vessel CSOV will be outited and delivered in Q2 2023, with the hull to be built at the Vard Braila shipyard in Romania. The second vessel will be built and delivered by the Vard Vung Tau shipyard in Vietnam, scheduled for delivery in Q3 2024.

i. vard.com

Haliade-X prototype starts operatng at 14MW

GE Renewable Energy announced recently that its Haliade-X prototype in the port of Roterdam has started operatng at 14MW. With this new milestone, GE Renewable Energy becomes the frst industry player to operate a turbine at this power output. The Haliade-X 14 MW is an uprated version of the Haliade-X 13 MW, which received its type certfcaton in January 2021. The GE Renewable Energy team has now ofcially started certfcaton measurements on the Haliade-X 14 MW. One turbine can generate up to 74GWh of gross annual energy producton, saving up to 52,000t of CO2. The ability to produce more power from a single turbine means fewer turbines need to be installed at each windfarm. In additon to less capital expenditure, this also simplifes operatons and maintenance, improving the afordability and accessibility of renewable energy for customers and consumers around the world. The Haliade-X 14 MW will make its commercial debut at the Dogger Bank C ofshore windfarm, which is located over 130km of the north-east coast of England. GE Renewable Energy will provide 87 units.

i. ge.com

Lifal takes over Damen Hoistng

Lifal Hijstechniek has taken over Damen Hoistng as of 1 October. For the company, this acquisiton represents a strategic expansion towards the Roterdam region, and for Damen a choice to keep focusing on its core business. Lifal Hijstechniek, established in Vlissingen in 1998, is an expert in the feld of testng and certfcaton of hoistng and lifing equipment for maritme applicatons, the ofshore oil & gas industry, the wind industry, industrial markets, and the constructon sector. Since its establishment, the company operates mainly throughout the South-West Netherlands region and also in several diferent European markets, while from its Belgian establishment, the company operates in Antwerp, the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal Zone, and the Belgian ports. Damen Hoistng was founded fve years ago as a business unit of Damen Anchor & Chain Factory. From the accommodaton at the Damen Shiprepair Roterdam site in Schiedam, the company serves customers from various markets that are complementary to those of Lifal.

i. liftal.com

| Read more on ofshore-industry.eu