April 22 - Jumbo Offshore has successfully completed the first leg of its current Transition Piece (TP) installation project.
Jumbo's DP2-vessel Jumbo Javelin installed the TPs, the first 18 of a series of approximately 110, within schedule.
The work for the Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm (GGOWF), off the UK coast, will take up much of this year and Jumbo Offshore says that this is the first time that TPs have been transported and installed using a free floating vessel on DP.
After loading the 270 tonne TPs in the Port of Flushing, Jumbo Javelin sailed, with open hold, to the offshore location. There, the vessel was positioned on DP and lifted the first TP onto the monopile. After leveling the TP to its final position, the space between TP and foundation pile (annulus) was filled with grout to fix it permanently.
Jumbo Offshore says that this was the first time that TPs were installed on monopiles from a free floating vessel on DP in one trip.
To give the crew safe access from Jumbo Javelin to the installed TP, as well as efficiently guiding the grout hoses, Ampelmann II was used. This ship-based, self stabilizing platform actively compensates vessel motions, enabling safe access and support in wave heights up to Hs = 2.5 m (significant wave height).
Jumbo Javelin uses its DP2-system to create, amongst others, a working environment in which TPs can be installed in wave heights up to Hs = 1.5 m. With a high transit speed of up to 17 knots, the vessel is well-equipped for wind farm installation work. Installing the 18 TPss confirmed the suitability of Jumbo's concept: transportation and installation by the same vessel, fast transit to the installation site and short relocation times from one position to the next.
