Problem-solving capabilites

THE CONSTRUCTION OF OFFSHORE WIND FARMS REQUIRES A BROAD RANGE OF TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT. AS NO WIND FARM PROJECT IS THE SAME DUE TO, FOR EXAMPLE, SOIL, WIND, AND WATER CONDITIONS, EACH PROJECT OFTEN DEMANDS NEW TAILOR-MADE TOOLS.

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF BREMAN MACHINERY.

The CLA project is typical proof of Breman Machinery’s problem-solving capabilites. Albertus Vos, Project Manager of Breman Machinery, gives an example, “As the CLA was dedicatedly constructed for this specifc job, it was necessary to conduct a load test to fnd out if the tool would be able to meet the required lifing capacity and could withstand any extra load that might appear during actual lifing operatons at sea.” He contnues, “The frst idea raised was to perform the load test with mobile cranes, but due to the tool’s dimensions and weight, this was quickly discarded as it

The French Saint-Brieuc ofshore wind farm will be constructed of the Britany coast. Van Oord is responsible for the transport and installaton of 62 jacket foundatons for the wind turbines (three pin piles each) and the four foundaton pin piles for the ofshore substaton. Van Oord started the ofshore operatons early in 2021 with the installaton of the 190 pin piles using its ofshore installaton vessel Aeolus. For this purpose, the vessel was upgraded and an extensive spread of project-specifc installaton equipment was engineered, constructed, and thoroughly tested to ensure a perfect executon of the project.

For the ofshore wind project, Dutch manufacturer Breman Machinery has been working on a challenging job in the past few months to engineer, construct, install, and test a new Casing Lifing Adapter. The CLA has a capacity of 308t and is a tailor-made tool dedicatedly constructed for this partcular job. The CLA is designed to connect with a temporary casing used during drilling operatons. It is equipped with redundant safety pin connectons and it can be remotely operated. This is also one of the reasons why it has a sub-sea IP camera to provide real-tme images during ftng operatons. As the main contractor for the tool’s constructon, Breman Machinery was responsible for the entre scope, from scratch to commissioning. In close cooperaton with Kenc Engineering and Hycom, this resulted in a successful project. The constructon of the tool took place at Breman Machinery’s frst-class facilites in Genemuiden.

would require two very heavy cranes, resultng in considerable technical challenges and huge costs. Instead of this, the decision was made, together with Wagenborg/Nedlif, to use a horizontal test setup.” For this setup, a temporary test stand was constructed using lifing beams, steel valves, a lifing gantry, additonal beams, and jacks. “Using horizontally positoned jacks,” Mr Vos explains, “would allow building up a tensile force on the adapter equal to the required tonnage. With load cells placed between the jacks and gantry beams, it was possible to accurately measure and record the tensile force. Finally, under supervision of DNV GL auditors, an accurately registered 387t load test of the LCA was successfully executed in two positons in early March.”

Next to the CLA, Breman Machinery also constructed a newly designed and created state-of-the-art piling template, which Van Oord uses as a positoning and holdingtool to ensure the precise placement of the pin piles. “Master crafsmen, solutons, and innovatons have been in our DNA for the past 150 years,” states Henk Breman, CEO of Breman Machinery, “and we are a wellknown manufacturing company for the ofshore industry for many years now. Most of our projects for this market are one-ofs. This requires a high level of fexibility and precision, no mater how small or big a work piece is.” “Once at sea, it is difcult to make adjustments to the equipment”, Mr Breman concludes. “Therefore, things need to ft perfectly. And apart from this, we know that the more accurately equipment is constructed, the longer it will last.”