Sif’s Maasvlakte 2 Operational, Innovation Picks Up Galloper Monopiles

On 2 January, the first four monopiles were loaded from Sif’s Maasvlakte 2 site onto GeoSea’s installation vessel Innovation, which has now put the first section of the new deepwater quay in Port of Rotterdam into operation as it is ready to install the second batch of foundations at the Galloper offshore wind farm site in the UK.

The installation of the first four foundations, including monopiles and transition pieces, at the Galloper site started in late December. The first batch of monopiles was transported from Sif’s assembly facilities on a barge, since the quay was not ready to accommodate the load-out on a seagoing vessel at the time. They were loaded onto Innovation, together with the transition pieces, at BOW Terminal, according to BOW Terminal’s website.

However, from now on, all the monopiles for the wind farm, which will house 56 of them, will be picked up directly by the installation vessel at Maasvlakte 2.

Sif completed the first monopiles for the Galloper offshore wind farm at its new assembly facility in Rotterdam in September 2016.

Back in June 2015, the company signed and agreement with the Port of Rotterdam for the construction of a production, storage and load-out terminal at Maasvlakte 2. Sif is using the 42-hectare terminal to produce steel foundations for offshore wind farms and the oil and gas industry.

In July 2016, the company entered an agreement with BOW Terminal Vlissingen for work on the coordination and implementation of both horizontal and vertical transport for all Sif projects at the new terminal.

The first 150 meters of the new quay are now ready, and the entire site is scheduled to be put into operation in July 2017.

GeoSea, which is carrying out the installation supported by scour protection work done by its sister company Tideway (both part of DEME Group), sub-contracted Sif Group and Smulders to produce the monopiles and transition pieces. Each foundation is around 85 metres in length and 7.5 metres in diameter, and weighs around up to 1,200 tonnes.

Galloper offshore wind farm, located approximately 30 kilometres off the coast of Suffolk, is an extension of the existing and fully operational Greater Gabbard wind farm and represents an expected investment potential of around GBP 1.5 billion.

innogy SE is leading the development and construction of the project on behalf of its partners who also include the UK Green Investment Bank, Siemens Financial Services and Macquarie Capital.

The installation of the fifty-six 6MW Siemens turbines is expected to start in the early summer of 2017.

Offshore WIND Staff

Updated on 6 January with information on load-out of the first batch of foundations at BOW Terminal.