DEME Offshore jack-up Innovation has completed the installation of 58 monopile and two offshore substation foundations at the 487MW Seamade offshore wind farm off the coast of Belgium.
Work kicked off in September last year and was completed on 2 January, DEME said.
The company said that during the foundation work a new monopile pile gripper, mounted on Innovation was deployed.
DEME added that it will integrate a noise mitigation system on the vessel for its next job, minimising subsea noise during installation activities.
The company’s Apollo vessel will start installation of Siemens Gamesa 8.4MW turbines at Seamade in the spring, operating out of the port of Ostend.
DEME will also install all the array wires utilising cable lay vessel Living Stone, after it has completed work on the export cable.
DEME Offshore general manager Bart De Poorter said: “This is a major milestone in the construction of Belgium’s largest wind farm. Seamade is a significant step in the country’s energy transition.
“Thanks to the expertise of the teams involved we safely and efficiently completed this project phase.
“This was also the first successful installation project with the new innovative pile gripper.
“We now prepare for a successful array cable and turbine installation campaign.”
Seamade chief executive Mathias Verkest said: “We are very proud to announce this great achievement, which could only happen by joining forces between an enthusiastic Seamade team and very dedicated contractors, all committed to reaching this challenging target within the set time frame.
“Another important step for reaching the 2020 climate goal.”