MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has received a significant order for delivery of the mission-critical system to be installed on the OHT offshore wind foundation installation vessel, Alfa Lift, being built at the China Merchants Heavy Industry shipyard in Jiangsu, China.
The order, which is the largest single vessel contract secured to date by MacGregor, was booked in Cargotec’s third quarter order intake. The monopile installation system is scheduled to be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2021.
“OHT is committed to continuously advancing the development of technologies within offshore wind operations, thereby enabling complex operations to be undertaken at the highest levels of safety and efficiency. The monopile installation solution is the result of applying our collective capabilities and experience to solve market challenges and achieve optimum operability for our vessels,” says Torgeir E. Ramstad, CEO of MacGregor.
“Whenever we ask MacGregor to solve operational challenges in the demanding marine environment they, together with partners, demonstrate excellent technical understanding and respond quickly. We are extremely pleased to be working together on the exciting Alfa Lift project,” adds Ramstad.
The scope of supply includes the engineering, procurement and construction of the monopile lifting, skidding and transfer system, which is an integral part of the installation process undertaken by employing an upending tool and motion compensated gripper frame.
The motion-compensated gripper frame will be closely interfaced with the vessel’s dynamic positioning and control system in an integrated solution developed jointly by MacGregor and Kongsberg Maritime. Both companies believe that the application of automated handling solutions will increase the safety, productivity and consistency of the installation operation, resulting in substantial cost and time savings.
Alfa Lift is scheduled for delivery in 2021 and will be the world’s largest custom-built offshore wind foundation installation vessel. The vessel will be capable of carrying and installing up to 14 XL monopiles per voyage and will be able to fully submerge the main deck to a depth of 14.66 m.
Photo: A rendering of OHT’s offshore wind foundation installation vessel
