Siemens Gamesa and Muehlhan Wind Service team up on SeaMade

Siemens Gamesa has hired Muehlhan Wind Service (MWS) to provide pre-assembly and ground logistics for the SeaMade offshore wind farm project in Belgium.

Under the contract, MWS will pre-assemble 58 Siemens Gamesa 8.4MW wind turbines prior to their transportation and installation at the site located 38-50 kilometres off the coast of Oostende.

The turbine pre-assembly work has started in March and is taking place in the Port of Oostende, which also serves as the main location of the operational site-management.

Hervé Bouraima, Global Commodity Manager, Siemens Gamesa Offshore Project Procurement, said: “Muehlhan Wind Service has demonstrated excellent work and dedication, and we are happy to continue our cooperation with them as our partner for this demanding project. We have extremely high focus on safety, quality, and standards, and we believe Muehlhan Wind Service is the perfect match for us on here.”

The project scope that Muehlhan Wind Service undertakes includes all ground transportation, crane operations, and all marshalling/pre-assembly work on both nacelles and towers, which started arriving in Oostende earlier this month.

Thomas Andersen, CSO at MWS, said: “Compared to other fixed-price pre-assembly projects we conducted in the past, this project increases in size and complexity. The project includes not only mechanical and electrical pre-assembly work, but also all crane- and lifting operations as well the complete ground transportation of nacelles, blades, towers. We are excited about this development, and happy to be a significant part in optimizing our clients’ offshore installation processes – by undertaking larger scopes and drive down cost without compromising on safety and quality.”

The 487MW SeaMade offshore wind farm is a merger of the Seastar and the Mermaid projects.

The installation of the wind turbines is expected to start in the spring and the wind farm is slated for full commissioning by the end of the year.

Seamade NV, a joint venture between Otary (70%), Electrabel (17.5%), and Eneco Wind Belgium SA (12.5%), is the project developer.