Commissioning of Triton KnollWind Farm- Gangway
Project Specifications
The Case
Located 33km off Lincolnshire Coast in the UK, the Triton Knoll windfarm was developed by Innogy Renewables UK Ltd., alongside the partners J-Power and Kansai Electric. Consisting of 90 sets of 9.5 megawatt MHI Vestas Turbines, Triton Knoll would supply 800,000 UK households with renewable energy.
Innogy Renewables UK Ltd. contracted SubSea7 to conduct the installation activities of Triton Knoll, using the Seaway Strashnov. This heavy lift vessel would be responsible for lifting the WTG foundations into place.
However, the Seaway Strashnov had no means of offshore access. With operations being conducted in the North Sea, difficult sea states were common. At the same time the railing that surrounded the WTG foundations, designed to ensure crew safety, was blocking access to the foundation. Traditional gangway systems would not be able to safely reach the foundation. With no means of access to the foundation, the work on the project would be halted. It was essential for Subsea7 to find a gangway that could safely transfer personnel over the railings.
Our Solution
We proposed our Gangway, retrofitted with a tip ladder, for use on the Seaway Strashnov. With motion compensation capabilities for wave heights of up to 3.5 meters, this solution gives a significant workability increase.
For this project, the Gangway was mounted on a fixed pedestal with modular staircase access. To compensate for the North Sea waves, the Gangway uses a mixture of telescoping, luffing, and slewing motions. The tip ladder provided an additional reach of 2 meters and allowed access over the handrails of/onto the WTG foundations. This was used whilst the gangway was in hover mode, using position control to hold the gangway above the WTG landing platform.
The Seaway Strashnov completed installation with our Gangway attached, ensuring safe offshore access to WTG foundations.
