Wind feeder vessel – soluton for US ofshore wind

AMPELMANN AND C-JOB NAVAL ARCHITECTS HAVE JOINED FORCES TO DEVELOP A ONE-OFA-KIND OFFSHORE WIND FEEDER VESSEL CONCEPT WITH MOTION COMPENSATION TECHNOLOGY, SPECIFICALLY SUITED FOR THE RIGOROUS DEMANDS OF OPERATING OFF THE EAST COAST OF THE US.

ALL ARTIST IMPRESSIONS COURTESY OF AMPELMANN AND C-JOB NAVAL ARCHITECTS. The concept design combines the knowledge of Ampelmann, a Dutch ofshore access provider, and independent ship design company C-Job Naval Architects. Together they have created a viable soluton in response to the need to support the constructon and logistcs of ofshore wind farms in the US under the Jones Act. Todd Allen, VP Business Development at C-Job Naval Architects, says, “The US is ambitous in its plans to grow the installed ofshore wind power. The only viable way to realise this goal while complying with the Jones Act is utlising ofshore wind feeder vessels. Together with our strategic partner Ampelmann, the experts in moton compensaton, we have created an innovatve ship design ready to support constructon of US wind farms today and into the future.”

The ofshore wind feeder vessel has an L-shaped superstructure. This enables the transport of all wind turbine components, including the blades, while keeping the ship itself relatvely compact minimising constructon and operatonal costs. To maximise workability and allow for safe lifing of the components, the feeder vessel features a specially designed moton compensaton system. The system uses Ampelmann’s core technology to stabilise the components of the wind turbine generator (WTG) in six degrees of freedom and is designed for safe lifing operatons in sea states up to 2.5m signifcant wave height. The compensator is positoned close to the vessel’s center where it can compensate all vessel motons and allows for contnued

operatons – even in adverse weather conditons – throughout the year.

Gus DeOliveira, Ampelmann’s Business Development Area Manager for the Americas, states, “We see a lot of potental for the ofshore wind market in the US and believe that we can add some unique value based on our decades long experience in the ofshore wind market. Our partnership with C-Job is crucial if we are to design and deliver just the right soluton for this growing market.” The wind turbine components are arranged on the ship with a quick connect grip- and glide system. Cargo pallets are placed on deck quickly thanks to the quick connect system. Once the feeder vessel is at its destnaton, the system slides the components into place to connect to the moton compensator. The Ampelmann system then compensates all vessel motons, so the crane operator can lif turbine components in a similar fashion to an onshore lif.

The moton compensated wind feeder vessel is designed to provide maximum efciency and workability during the constructon of an ofshore wind farm. The conventonal way of working is that the wind turbine installaton vessel (WTIV) would transport the components and then do the installaton of the turbines. However, this is an inefcient use of the WTIV and in the case of foreign vessels not allowed by the Jones Act. With this feeder concept – which is envisioned to be a series – the turbine components are brought to the installaton site by the feeder vessel. With two or more vessels per project, this allows the WTIV to focus on the installaton of the turbines and ensures operatons can contnue at all tmes.