MacGregor has received an order to deliver the mission-critical system for Offshore Heavy Transport’s (OHT) offshore wind foundation installation vessel Alfa Lift.
The scope includes the engineering, procurement and construction of the monopile lifting, skidding and transfer system, said to be an integral part of the installation process undertaken by employing an upending tool and motion-compensated gripper frame.
The motion-compensated gripper frame will be interfaced with the vessel’s dynamic positioning and control system in an integrated solution developed jointly by MacGregor and Kongsberg Maritime.
MacGregor said that the order is its largest single vessel contract secured to date.
The monopile installation system is scheduled to be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2021.
Alfa Lift is currently being built at the China Merchants Heavy Industry shipyard in Jiangsu, China.
It is said to be designed to match the future requirements of the offshore wind industry, allowing the transport and installation of up to ten 1,500t ultra-large jacket foundations or eleven 2,000t XXL monopiles plus transition pieces for the largest turbines.
The vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2021, when it will begin working at Dogger Bank’s 1.2 GW Creyke Beck A and 1.2 GW Creyke Beck B wind farms.