Balmoral Adapts Buoyancy Solutions for Offshore Wind
while over the past year around 40% of order intake has come directly from the offshore wind sector.”Headquartered in Aberdeen, he says the company is well placed to meet local content criteria for the forthcoming Scotwind and INTOG projects, and discussions are continuing with developers, installation contractors and cable suppliers.Engineering and projects director, Fraser Milne, said: “It is understood that the offshore wind sector is at the early stages of development with many challenges to overcome. We believe our track record of innovation and entrepreneurship positions us well to assist
First Sea Cable Installed for TenneT's West Alpha Offshore Substation
Jan de Nul Group and LS Cable & System have completed the installation of the first sea cable for West Alpha offshore wind substation for Dutch grid operator TenneT. The offshore installation contractors used the cable-laying vessel Connector and the remote-controlled cable-laying vehicle UTV1200 for the operation.Over sixty kilometers of cable were laid in the seabed between the Heemskerk beach on the Dutch coast and the jacket foundation of the transformer platform at sea.With over sixty kilometers of marine cable on board, the cable-laying vessel Connector from contractor Jan de
C-Kore Mobilizes on North Sea Campaign
completed a campaign on a subsea oil field located in the North Sea. The C-Kore tools were used to test the electrical integrity of the subsea assets, giving quick feedback to the operator for their maintenance decisions on the field.C-Kore’s subsea testing tools are used by operators and installation contractors around the world on both installation campaigns and fault-finding operations. The Cable Monitor unit con-firms the insulation resistance and continuity of the electrical lines while the Subsea TDR unit localizes anomalies within 20cm. With C-Kore’s automated units and on-line training
Edward Heerema – Dutch Courage with Single-minded Focus
period. “The amount of work, 25 lifts in five years, has been reasonable, but not impressive,” says Edward. The pandemic extended the depression that hit in 2014, reducing activity. “There’s not been sufficient work for everybody,” he says. “None of the installation contractors have had enough work. Everybody is surviving, because even when you get a reasonable amount of work, it is at very low prices because of the enormous competition in the installation and removal business. That aside, we have done relatively well. We have got very reasonable amount of work
Subsea Expo 2022 Set to Return 'in-person' Next Week in Aberdeen
to work and, in turn, increase costs.Image courtesy Subsea Expo 2022Mark Collins, business development director at subsea engineering service company SMD Ltd, is attending Subsea Expo 2022. He will be presenting on new optimized robots for offshore wind, designed to reduce risk and cost for installation contractors. He said: “Installation efficiencies are determined by the vessel’s work rate and the vessel’s work rate is often based on the ROV's ability to go in the water. I recently had a conversation with an offshore wind manager who estimated if the ROV can handle 1.4 knots
Hunting Pipes and Cables at a Lower Cost
Sabertooth, the only autonomous vehicle that can be fitted with a conventional tracking system.”He explains how Sabertooth, with Smartrak, navigates autonomously to the target pipeline or cable, follows it, measures its position and records its depth of burial.Such data is essential for installation contractors, owners and regulatory authorities to ensure that pipelines and cables are properly buried and not in danger of being exposed to damage.“Autonomous robotics make higher standards of data gathering possible by taking human decision-making out of the loop,” Terry Slater declares
Funding for Jee’s Excalibur system
will allow for routine offshore inspections of the TECs without the need for heavy lift vessels or subsea intervention and the robust cable protection removes the need to inspect the cable”. Jee is forming a steering committee of key stakeholders including tidal array farm developers, installation contractors and cable suppliers. The steering group will help shape the design, confirm the technical requirements and gain market feedback. Innovate UK works with people, companies and partner organisations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy. 
Fugro Clarifies: Being an Independent Service Provider
of clients. Clients use the data, information and advice provided by Fugro amongst others to determine and optimise their choices for their construction and installation work. This makes Fugro's position highly sensitive to conflicts of interest in particular in relation to construction and installation contractors. Hence Fugro does not agree with the statement by Boskalis' statement that Fugro's activities “fit very well” with Boskalis. Fugro can only maintain its current market leading positions if it remains an independent service provider. Fugro also refers to its press releases
DNV GL-led JIP for Pipeline Design Guidelines
pipelines, but does not capture all potential failure modes. In recent times, several cases of concrete coating damage have been observed during installation and operation phases, with varying degrees of severity and potential risk. The JIP is relevant for pipeline operators, designers, installation contractors and coating contractors. “Many industry players have expressed a wish for a more thorough understanding of the behaviour of pipeline concrete weight coating during the installation and operational phases. They expect more specific acceptance criteria, a less conservative approach