CAPE Holland, the Dutch piling solutions provider, announced today that its CAPE VLT-640 Triple Vibro Lifting Tool is now fully certified and ready for deployment at the Moray West Offshore Wind Farm.
The CAPE VLT-640 Triple spread will be transported from Amsterdam to the offshore construction site where it will be used by the DP2 Heavy Lift Vessel Bokalift 2 to install monopiles at the 882 MW Moray West Offshore Wind Farm, located off the east coast of Scotland in the Moray Firth.
Moray West is a project by Ocean Winds, a 50:50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie, and will feature 60 offshore wind turbines and two substations, all fixed on monopile foundations. Due to the large turbine size (14.7 megawatts) and water depth (up to 54 meters), extremely large XXL monopiles will be used. The monopiles have a top diameter of 7.5 meter and bottom diameter of up to 10 meter, measure up to 93 meters in length and weigh up to nearly 2,000 tons.
Upend and safe installation
The monopiles will be installed by DEME Offshore and Boskalis. Both installation contractors will deploy a Vibro Lifting Tool from CAPE Holland to upend and safely install the XXL monopiles. The piles will subsequently be driven to final penetration with an impact hammer.
Boskalis placed the order for the delivery of a CAPE VLT-640 Triple spread earlier this year. The CAPE VLT-640 Triple, with an eccentric moment of nearly 2,000 kgm, has a safe working load of 2,200 tons and the spread includes hydraulic power units and a control cabin. The tool was built at Breman Machinery in Genemuiden and was recently successfully load tested to complete the lifting appliance certification process under Lloyd’s Register Code for Lifting Appliances in a Marine Environment (CLAME). The CAPE VLT was subjected to a test load of 3,245 ton and certified (SWL) for lifting piles up to 2,400 ton.
In December 2022, DEME ordered a CAPE VLT-640 Quad spread. This Vibro Lifting Tool will be ready next year. Source image: CAPE Holland
