Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has developed an offshore wind floating platform design for the South Korean market that has received approval in principle (AiP) from DNV.
The 9.5MW Tri-Star Float steel-frame structure’s compact design will help “dramatically shorten” the construction period from design and transportation to installation, SHI said.
The company began the development of the independent floater model in October 2020 before successfully completing floating water tank model tests at Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering (KRISO) in March.
Classification societies, government agencies and partners of the Donghae-1 project GIG-Total Energies, Shell, Equinor and KEPCO were also involved in the tank testing.
SHI vice president of the offshore business Wang Lee said: “The offshore floater will enable us to make forays into the renewable energy sector using our capacity to build large-scale offshore plants.
“We hope our development is aligned with the government’s Green New Deal Policy.”