MPI Offshore celebrated a further milestone in the construction of the state-of-the-art wind turbine installation vessel MPI Adventure: installation of the 1,000-tonne-capacity main crane.
The main crane, which was designed by Gusto MSC of the Netherlands, was constructed in China and transported to Cosco Nantong Shipyard by barge. Following arrival at the Shipyard, the construction teams executed with pinpoint accuracy the lifting of the crane from the barge and placement of the “back mast” of the crane in its final position on the main deck of the vessel. The next stages in the overall installation of the main crane will be the mounting of the crane boom, crane wires and final commissioning activities.
The main crane will be the “work horse” of the MPI Adventure and will be capable of lifting loads up to 1,000 tonnes to a height of more than 100 metres. These specifications have been chosen in order to prepare MPI Offshore for the challenges of the offshore wind industry in the coming years. The high specification of the main crane ensures that MPI Offshore will be able to respond to the ongoing evolution of wind power technology which results in the development of ever higher capacity, more efficient and heavier wind turbines.
The electro-hydraulic main crane weighs over 400 tonnes. Both main hoist crane wires are constructed from 48-mm steel wire rope and are each almost 1.5 kilometres long. Whilst the majority of the crane’s work will take place when the installation vessel is in the jacked-up position, the main crane will also be capable of significant lifting performance whilst the vessel is in the floating position, either at sea or in port.
Following the arrival of MPI Adventure in European waters during the early Spring of 2011, the main crane will “cut its teeth” during the installation of monopile foundations for the London Array Offshore Wind Farm Project. The London Array Wind Farm will be built approximately 20 kilometres off the coast of Kent and Essex in the United Kingdom. The Wind Farm is scheduled for completion in two phases. Phase One, planned to be completed in 2012, will cover 90 square kilometres and include 175 turbines, with a combined capacity of 630 megawatts.
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Source: mpi-offshore, November 16, 2010