Van Oord Deploys Osbit Monopile Cleaning Tool at Walney

Osbit has delivered a hybrid monopile cleaning tool to Van Oord, designed to support the installation of offshore wind turbine foundations.

The hybrid marine growth cleaning tool is currently supporting a project at the Walney 3 & 4 offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea, where Van Oord has been tasked with installing 87 monopiles for DONG Energy.

The tool offers combined monopile cleaning, anode cage lifting and installation down to 30m water depth, along with monopile survey and measurement capabilities.

To ensure the monopiles are sufficiently prepared for grouting and the installation of the transition pieces, Osbit’s tool utilises a suite of 10 rotating cleaning heads to prepare the monopile surface to fit the transition piece. The system’s cleaning heads are adaptable, to enable effective cleaning of the tapered monopiles, which have an increasing diameter of six to eight metres.

Osbit’s system was designed in collaboration with Van Oord, at its offices in Riding Mill, Northumberland and manufactured in the North East of England with the support of its experienced local supply chain.

Brendon Hayward, managing director of Osbit said: “Working closely with Van Oord, we have developed an innovation to deliver new levels of operational efficiency for offshore wind foundation installations. Its hybrid capabilities combine three systems, to significantly cut installation timescales and deliver cost-savings, key targets for the industry, particularly in the current climate.”

“Our engineers applied their expertise in the subsea and renewables sectors to devise a solution that not only meets operational requirements, but was delivered to an accelerated design and build schedule to enable it to be deployed on the Walney project.”