Jumbo Offshore's crew, engineers and subcontractors have completed the first leg of their current transition piece (TP) installation project. Jumbo's DP2-vessel 'Jumbo Javelin' installed the TPs, the first 18 of a series of approximately 110, within schedule.
The work for the Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm (GGOWF), off the UK's south-east coast, will take up the better part of the rest of the year.
This is the first time that TPs have been transported and installed using a free floating vessel on DP.
After loading the TPs in the Port of Flushing, the 'Jumbo Javelin' sailed, with open hold, to the offshore location. There, she positioned herself on DP and lifted the first TP onto the monopile. After levelling the TP to its final position, the space between TP and foundation pile (annulus) was filled with grout to fix it permanently.
It was the first time that TPs were installed on monopiles from a free floating vessel on DP in one trip. To give crew safe access from the 'Jumbo Javelin' to the installed TP, as well as efficiently guiding the grout hoses, the 'Ampelmann II' was used. This ship-based, self stabilising platform actively compensates vessel motions, enabling safe access and support in wave heights up to Hs = 2.5 m (significant wave height).
The' Jumbo Javelin' uses its DP2-system to create, amongst others, a working environment in which TPs can be installed in wave heights up to Hs = 1.5 m. With a high transit speed of up to 17 knots, the vessel is well equipped for wind farm installation work.
