Huisman Monopile Installation Kit for Seaway7’s Next-Generation Jack-Up Vessel

August 2, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Huisman has been awarded a contract by Seaway7, part of Subsea7 Group, for the delivery of the entire monopile installation spread for the jack-up vessel Seaway Ventus, which is currently being built by China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI).

Under the contract, Huisman will deliver a monopile gripper, an upending frame, and two sets of monopile storage cradles.

The company said it has modified its existing gripper design to meet Subsea7’s requirement to maximise the vessel payload, for which Huisman applied the proven technology of its existing range of grippers.

This has resulted in a lightweight, robust, and very stiff monopile gripper, capable of handling XXL monopiles, according to the press release.

The monopile upending frame is adjustable in length and therefore suitable for handling a wide range of monopiles, while the monopile storage cradles are outfitted with adjustable saddles to be able to store various monopile sizes.

The cradles can be expanded with an additional layer to double the vessel’s storage capacity, said Huisman.

The monopile installation spread will be engineered, built, and installed on Seaway Ventus at Huisman’s premises in Schiedam, the Netherlands with the delivery expected for the fourth quarter of 2024.

“After building a long track record of Pipelay Systems with Seaway7’s parent company Subsea7, this order marks our first contract with the group for wind installation equipment. We are extremely excited to join them in their ambition to lead the way in the delivery of fixed offshore wind projects, and contributing to an efficient and sustainable energy supply for the future”, said David Roodenburg, CEO of Huisman.

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CMHI officially started working on the new wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV) in November 2021 with the cutting of the first steel.

Seaway Ventus, a GustoMSC NG-14000XL design, will be amongst the world’s largest jack-up installation vessels.

The WTIV features a telescopic leg-encircling crane with a maximum lifting capacity of 2,500 tonnes in retracted mode and 1,600 tonnes in extended mode.

Seaway Ventus, which will be prepared for hydrogen fuel cells, will be capable of installing wind turbine components in water depths of 65 mteres, at a height of up to 182 metres above the water.

The vessel’s inaugural project will be the transport and installation of wind turbines for Ørsted’s Borkum Riffgrund 3 and Gode Wind 03 offshore wind farms in Germany.