Offshore Site News

“The winds of change are blowing wild and free.” – Bob DylanIn the U.S. offshore wind industry, developments over recent months have placed an exclamation point on the word “wild”. Yes, the wind still blows “free”, but mounting challenges have proven that harnessing its power offshore is anything but. In fact, far from it, as rising materials costs, high interest rates, labor shortages and supply chain delays, among other issues, have delivered heavy blows to the commercial viability of several projects.

Crown LNG Holdings AS, a provider of LNG liquefaction and regasification terminal technologies for harsh weather locations, has agreed to merge with Catcha Investment Corp, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, that would result in Crown becoming a U.S. publicly listed company. The combined company, named Crown LNG Holdings Limited (“PubCo”), intends to apply to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol “CGBS”.Crown designs and…

Japan's Mitsui O.S.K. Line has concluded a time charter contract with Shimizu Corporation for two crew transfer vessels (CTV) for an offshore wind farm at Ishikari Bay New Port. "This marks the MOL Group’s first entry into the CTV business. In addition, one of the CTVs, The KAZEHAYA, owned by MOL, is the first CTV in Japan managed and operated under International Safety Management (ISM) Code, which is the international standard of ship safety management system, certified by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK )," MOL said.MOL Group company MOL Coastal Shipping, Ltd.

Itay's Snam will choose the offshore site for its new floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in the next 100 days, Italy's special commissioner for the project said on Friday, with its initial location already facing a legal challenge.Under the government's plan to diversify energy supply away from Russian gas, Italy's gas grid operator plans to moor the newly-bought FSRU in the port of Piombino, on Italy's west coast, for the next three years. After this period, it has…

The Biden administration has announced ambitious plans to scale up leasing for offshore wind energy projects along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. In an announcement released on Oct. 13, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior stated that it will “use the best available science as well as knowledge from ocean users and other stakeholders to minimize conflict with existing uses and marine life.” University of Massachusetts Boston public policy scholar David W. Cash, who worked at senior levels in state government for a decade…

Venezuela's national oil company PDVSA is reportedly preparing to resume production from the Corocoro offshore oil field.Reuters said Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, that PDVSA would use the Cororoco oil to feed its refineries.The Corocoro oil field, in which the Italian oil firm Eni is a partner as part of the Petrosucre consortium with PDVSA, is located in the Gulf of Paria.The offshore site caught media attention last year when the FSO (floating, storage, and offloading unit) Nabarima…

Dutch offshore survey specialist Fugro has secured a contract with RWE to carry out geophysical exploratory works at Five Estuaries offshore wind farm, the extension project of the existing 353MW Galloper wind farm.Works are expected to take place in the Southern North Sea from August to November 2021.Three dedicated vessels will map the characteristics of the seabed and bedrock to assess the conditions around the wind farm site and the potential cable locations. The seafloor…

Belgian offshore installation service provider DEME Offshore has installed the DolWin6 High Voltage DC (HVDC) cable in the German North Sea, using its LNG-powered DP3 vessel Living Stone. DolWin6 has a transmission capacity of 900 MW and is owned and operated by transmission system operator TenneT. The HVDC cable runs from several offshore wind farms in Germany via Norderney to the German mainland."This is the first time a cable-laying vessel has installed cables while powered on LNG…

Norwegian owner Offshore Heavy Transports (OHT) said its newbuild vessel Alfa Lift has been floated-out from its drydock at China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) shipyard in Jiangsu, China. The semisubmersible heavy installation vessel, which is designed and built for installing the next generation XXL offshore wind foundations, was launched on February 28, 2021.The 51,087-dedweight-tonne vessel will now be moored while work continues on the steel and internal fit-out, including the mechanical completion of systems.

Norway's Offshore Heavy Transports has won a contract to transport and install foundations for the first phase of Equinor's and SSE's Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Dogger Bank A, in the UK, using its foundation installation vessel Alfa Lift being built in China.To remind, OHT was in November 2019 selected as the preferred supplier for foundation installation at the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, and it has now secured the firm contract for the Dogger Bank A. "The contract for the second phase…

A new offshore guard vessel concept aims to be smaller, lighter and more efficient than most of the vessels used to protect offshore operations currently. It will also be completely unmanned and autonomous.The so-called Autonomous Guard Vessel revealed Tuesday has been created by a consortium of maritime companies specifically for surveillance of offshore structures throughout their life cycle, ranging from wind farms to substation platforms and cable routes.This clean and lean concept to replace conventional guard vessels came to life in a project group facilitated by LISA…

Van Oord’s heavy lift vessel Svanen has arrived at the Danish Kriegers Flak Offshore Wind field in the Baltic Sea off Denmark, where it will install foundations for wind turbines.The Dutch offshore contractor entered into an agreement with Vattenfall for the transport and installation of the foundations for Kriegers Flak wind farm. Van Oord will install the 72 monopiles and transition pieces. With a production capacity of just over 600 MW, Kriegers Flak will be Denmark’s largest…

Ordtek has announced the appointment of Gary Thirkettle as their new Operations Director.With a career spanning over 25 years in the offshore site investigation industry, he brings a proven depth in both operational and commercial experience to Ordtek.Ordtek has recently opened an office in Boston, USA to support a number of offshore wind farm developments in the region. After the success and lessons learnt in Virginia, Ordtek is now helping shape offshore UXO risk management in the USA through industry guidance.

Italian oil group Eni is joining forces with compatriot shipbuilder Fincantieri, power grid group Terna and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) to develop wave power stations.The Chief Executive Officers of the companies have signed a non-binding agreement today at the Eni headquarters in the EUR district of Rome to develop and build wave power stations on an industrial scale.The agreement seeks to combine the knowledge of the collective companies to transform the Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter (ISWEC) pilot project into a project on an industrial scale for immediate application and use. ISWEC is the innovative system that converts energy generated by waves into electricity.

Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni has activated the Inertial Sea Wave Energy Converter (ISWEC), offshore Ravenna, capable of converting energy generated by waves into electricity, which will in the future enable Eni to convert mature offshore platforms into renewable energy generation hubs.The pilot plant was installed at the Ravenna offshore site by Eni’s Central Northern District and has been integrated into a hybrid smart grid system featuring photovoltaics and energy storage.It reached a peak power output of over 51 kW, or 103% of its nominal power. This technology is suitable for powering medium and large offshore assets and…

The offshore converter platform, BorWin gamma, has now safely set sail from Dubai and begun its journey to  its offshore site in the German part of the North Sea.Through the Gulf of Oman, the 18,000 ton ‘topside’ will pass into the Red Sea before going through the Suez Canal onto the Mediterranean and past Gibraltar. The journey then moves through the Bay of Biscay, to the English Channel and into the North Sea where it will be integrated with the ‘jacket’ nearly 130 kilometres off the German coast.Along with BorWin3, a 900-megawatt connection for two offshore wind farms will go into operation next year and be able to supply more than one million households.It will be one of the world’s heaviest and largest HVDC platforms…

A sunken derrick barge has been raised from the Gulf of Mexico seafloor following several months of planning, engineering, on-site preparations and the heaviest salvage lift ever accomplished in the Americas, said marine services and wreck removal specialists Resolve Salvage and Fire Americas.The 350 ft x 100 ft derrick barge DB1 sank 30 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico on October 22, 2017, when adverse weather caused it to drag anchors and contact the offshore platform that the DB1 was engaged in removing.

Construction of a 30-meter-long, purpose-built floating crew transfer pontoon in Aberdeen Harbor’s Albert Basin has been completed by Swedish energy firm Vattenfall – supporting a new gateway for renewables in the center of the country’s energy industry. The 180m² pontoon, which is the only one of its kind at Aberdeen Harbor, has been specially built on Commercial Quay West as part of a 24-year agreement with the Harbor Board and can accommodate up to three crew transfer vessels at any one time. It will initially be used to support construction of Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Center (EOWDC) and then as a marine support base for its on-going operations and maintenance(O&M) program.

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s ocean class tugboats and 455-series high-deck strength barges recently played an integral role in the tow-out and installation of Hess’ Stampede tension-leg platform (TLP) in the deep waters of the U.S. Gulf. Demonstrating both nearshore and offshore capabilities, six Crowley vessels worked together alongside other third-party assets to deliver the oversized, overweight platform, tendons and other equipment from the Kiewit facility in Ingleside, Texas, to the site of the Stampede floating production facility, about 150 miles offshore in 3,400 feet of water.

DNV GL invites industry partners to start a Joint Industry Project (JIP) for improving the collection and assessment of site conditions data for offshore wind farms. Aiming to increase the efficiency of collecting site conditions, the new JIP will work with stakeholders from across the wind industry. The knowledge generated from the JIP is planned to be ultimately incorporated in a DNV GL recommended practice. The design of an offshore wind farm is dependent on the quality of the calculated site conditions used to derive the design parameters. To achieve an optimal quality in data collection and assessment, extensive and costly investigations are needed at a very early stage of the development, long before final investment decision is made.

St. CMS operates a range of marine simulation equipment that covers a broad range of marine and offshore activities. Much of the equipment is highly specialized and unique including fully motion capable simulators. The center also provides technical management and support of simulation equipment that is used by other parts of the Marine Institute. CMS simulation activities can be divided into three main areas; Training, Industrial Response, and Applied Research. To support these…

GAC UK has been appointed by Seaway Heavy Lifting (SHL) to provide essential shipping services support for the construction and installation of 84 new turbines as part of a major windfarm expansion project which will increase generating capacity almost six-fold. SHL, the engineering, procurement, construction and installation contractor, will design, supply and install the piled foundations, jacket substructures and inter-array cables for the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (BOWL) project in the Outer Moray Firth. They will also transport and install the offshore substations. Both SHL’s crane vessels will be deployed: HLV Stanislav Yudin’ from April 2017 to April 2018, HLV ‘Oleg Strashnov’ from August to October 2017 and again from May to July 2018.

DNV GL has been awarded a 5 year contract to provide in-service verification work for Wintershall Noordzee B.V.’s (WINZ) RAVN and A6-A platforms. The two platforms based in the North Sea are the unmanned RAVN in the Danish sector and manned A6-A in the German sector. RAVN is the first field in Denmark that Wintershall  Noordzee will transition to the production phase as operator. The A6-A platform is undergoing a major overhaul, with WINZ extending it to include an oil processing plant alongside the current gas condensate facilities. DNV GL’s scope of work will cover the Independent Verification of Management of Safety and Environmentally Critical Elements (SECE’s).