BigLift Shipping transported 38 jacket foundations from El Ferrol, Spain, for the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm utilising its heavy transport vessel BigLift Baffin.
The jacket foundations were transported to Van Oord’s offshore installation vessel Aeolus in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc. Between June 4 and October 5, BigLift Baffin completed 10 shipments with the foundations: eight trips with four foundations on deck, and two trips with three units.
The three-legged jackets measured 70 m high and each weighed approximately 1,100 tonnes. They were lifted and fastened onto purpose-built quick-release systems to minimise time during the lifting operation in the field.
Out at sea, the jackets were discharged by Van Oord’s Aeolus. The area near the Channel Islands is known for its large tidal range, according to BigLift Shipping, which meant that high current speeds needed to be counteracted by BigLift Baffin’s DP2 system – the first time the vessel has deployed this DP2 configuration.
The Saint-Brieuc wind farm is being developed 16.3 km off the coast of Brittany by Ailes Marines, a company wholly owned by energy company Iberdrola. The project comprises 62 wind turbines that will generate 496 MW clean energy.
