December 9 - Mammoet Europe has completed its role in the Nordergründe offshore wind energy project in Lower Saxony, Germany.
By using a custom-built hoisting system instead of a floating sheerleg, Mammoet assisted subsea power cable installation company VBMS with the lift and handling of cabling equipment for the offshore wind farm.
Nordergründe required a 28 km long cable to connect its offshore substation to the onshore power grid. VBMS used its BSSII burial sledge system to install the cable in the seabed.
During the project VBMS would occasionally have to launch and recover the BSSII - something that would normally require a floating sheerleg crane. However, chartering a floating sheerleg is costly and must be planned well in advance, adding significant costs to the project.
Mammoet was called in to develop a new solution to assist the handling of the BSSI. By combining two of the beams that were used during the salvage of the Kursk submarine, along with three winches, Mammoet was able to equip a standard barge with a bespoke system that could hoist the BSSII without the need for a floating sheerleg.
After a 12-day quayside assembly period, the system was installed on the barge and fully operational within two days.
