Ampelmann delivers top tip

Dutch company Ampelmann has created an angular boom tip that provides a secure connection for gangway transfers at offshore wind farms.

Ampelmann has worked with Seaway Heavy Lifting to deliver the V-shaped tip on the end of the 25-metre gangway on the heavy lift vessel Stanislav Yudin for turbine installation at the 588MW Beatrice offshore wind farm project in the Outer Moray Firth.

The V-shaped tip was developed instead of using a conventional rounded tip because of the size of the Stanislav Yudin, its close proximity to the jacket foundations and the location of its access gates, Ampelmann said.

The design, development and installation of the detachable tip took about two months and is deployed on the Beatrice project using the company’s A-type motion compensated gangway system.

Ampelmann manager sales and business development for offshore wind Friso Talsma said: “Though the tip is a quite a straightforward piece of steel, the rubber covered angular shape now allows us to land at difficult angles as small as 45 degrees, while eliminating the risk of gaps between gangway and structure.

“It’s a new innovation, tailor-made for this particular project and overcomes a significant safety and potentially costly challenge faced by the operators to ensure safe access to the structures.”

Image: Ampelmann