Offshore wind farm installation equipment

IHC Merwede provides consultancy services in the fields of vessel and equipment design, offshore wind and marine operational engineering and assessments. These services range from load-out, seabed preparation, transport and installation activities, such as feeder solutions, to methods and equipment for the operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms.

IHC Offshore Wind provides services and expertise for the construction, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms including:

• consultancy and design, incorporating operational engineering
• engineering and fabrication of equipment
• handling and installation tools
• construction of vessels and modifications to existing vessels.

Renowned hammers and handling equipment

The majority of European offshore wind farms using monopile foundations were installed with hammers supplied by IHC Hydrohammer®. IHC Merwede offers a wide range of unique and renowned equipment to install offshore wind turbine foundations thoroughly and efficiently. This includes the transportation and handling of various types of foundation structures with upending tools, monopile plugs, internal lifting tools, upending hooks combined with saddles, skidding arrangements, winches, hydraulic devices, buoyancy systems for jackets and piling templates.

Noise mitigation system

The purpose of the noise mitigation system (NMS) is to reduce the impact on sea life due to offshore construction activities for oil, gas and renewable energy. The NMS is based on a double-walled steel casing, with stiffeners to resist wave, current and compression impact.

The monopile NMS is equipped with a variable guiding system. This assures the swift guidance of the monopole through the NMS and the positioning of the NMS concentrically with the monopile. Furthermore, the variable guidance isolates the mechanical contact between monopile and screen. A multi-level bubble injector system operating inside the NMS creates an extra noise barrier. The mudmat flange on the bottom of the screen enables a stable positioning on the seabed.

The versatile design of the NMS means that it can be adjusted to meet the demands of individual projects. It can also be easily adapted in multiple installation methods for monopile foundations, for example, installation by jack-up platforms, jack-up vessels or free-floating vessels. A pre-piled jacket solution with integrated NMS is also under development. The NMS-6900 developed by IHC Offshore Systems is the first of its kind to be operational for the installation of foundations for the Riffgatt offshore wind farm project.