Seaqualize has launched lifting equipment designed to support the installation of the heaviest offshore wind turbines on the market.
The HC1100 can hold the equivalent of 20 HGVs, equal to 1100 tonnes.
One of the first deployments of the tool is in the US.
The hardware hangs on the hook of an existing offshore crane and compensates for the motions of the supply vessel transporting the vulnerable wind turbine components.
The HC1100 can hold a suspended load of 1100 tonnes still against the vessel’s motions, enabling the largest wind farm components to be lifted and installed from a vessel.
The heave compensator, which has been extensively tested, compensates for the vessel’s motions at sea due to swell, making installation “safer, faster and more straightforward”.
In addition to the operation requiring relatively little force, the process is controlled, without the occurrence of large shock loads or unintentional lifts causing the load to land on the vessel multiple times.
Seaqualize said its tool increases the window in which turbines can be installed, within less favourable weather conditions, such as in strong winds and high seas.
Iv-Consult contributed to the HC1100’s development.