12 Flanged monopiles for Moray West OWF

12 FLANGED MONOPILES FOR MORAY WEST OFFSHORE WIND FARM

Between November 2023 and March 2024, the CAPE VLT-640 Triple was used by installation contractor Boskalis on board its Heavy Lift Vessel Bokalift 2 to install 12 flanged monopiles with a bottom diameter of up to 10 meters and a length of up to 91 meters for Ocean Winds’ Moray West offshore wind farm in Scottish waters in harsh winter conditions.

The CAPE VLT was chosen as a mitigation measure to prevent pile run. Additional features, such as certified pile handling and upending capabilities, helped make the installation process much more controlled, particularly in combination with the Dynamic Positioning system and motion-compensation pile gripper of the vessel.

For this project, installation contractor Boskalis also used a quick-release connector supplied by CAPE Holland’s sister company Balltec, of which the receptacle was mounted directly on the CAPE VLT. This not only improved the safety and speed of the installation process but also significantly reduced the rigging height required. The piles were upended using the CAPE VLT in combination with the upending hinge of the Bokalift 2, which was designed and built by CAPE Holland’s other sister company, Osbit.

CAPE Holland is looking back on a great performance of the CAPE VLT, with no mechanical breakdowns of the equipment, while it contained numerous innovations.