Mammoet has successfully completed the load-outs of five floating wind platforms at the Navantia Fene Shipyard in Spain. The platforms will form part of the largest floating offshore wind farm in the world, Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm.
Having previously delivered similar load-out operations at the Navantia Fene Shipyard, Mammoet had existing knowledge of the quay and was awarded the contract for the load-out of the five floating foundations. The floating offshore wind market is currently experiencing large growth, and the success of these five operations demonstrates how Mammoet can support this growth.
Considering the platforms’ weights, the surface conditions on the quay were of paramount importance. To minimize operational risk, Mammoet prepared the quay by installing hundreds of steel plates to level the surface in places where it had previously been uneven.
Furthermore, coordinating with various stakeholder groups flexibly was also required to execute each operation on schedule. This included organizing each operation to meet the appropriate tide levels and weather conditions and marrying these with the availability of the specialist seagoing vessel contractor and Navantia Fene Shipyard.
Once the quay was prepared and the specialist seagoing vessel docked, Mammoet had only a short window in which it could execute each operation. Mobilizing 100 axle lines of SPMTs split between the three columns of the triangular footprint, the floating foundation was loaded onto the three sets of SPMTs, transferred 100m across the quay, and transversely loaded onto the vessel using 54m of RoRo ramps. Once unloaded and stabilized using sea-fastening equipment, the load-out was complete. Mammoet successfully completed this operation five times over several months.
“Having worked at this quay before doing similar complex operations, it was the key factor to deliver the floating wind platforms successfully on time”, explains Mammoet Spain Sales Manager, Javier De Pablo Arenzana. He continues: “In addition to our pool of resources and equipment, this meant we were able to offer our client a high degree of flexibility in terms of the project schedule.”
“We believe these capabilities make us well-suited to supporting the growth of the offshore floating wind sector,” he concludes.
