Offshore staff
UTRECHT, the Netherlands – Seaqualize has completed offshore trials for its inline Active Heave Compensator (iAHC), the Delta600.
Together with testing partners Van Oord and MARIN, the offshore lifting tool was tested for fixed-to-floating, floating-to-fixed, and floating-to-floating transfers of 300-metric ton loads. The Delta600 is DNV certified and ready for work.
Since December 2019, Seaqualize has developed what it claims is the world’s first iAHC: a tool specifically designed for heavy lift, in-air load control. The tool can balance and transfer loads of up to 600 metric tons in mid-air, while the barge or crane vessel heaves up and down in heavy seas of up to Hs 2.5 m (8.2 ft).
During the offshore trials, the Delta600 lifted a test weight to and from the floating supply vessel Rem Trader, using Van Oord’s jackup crane vessel Aeolus in both jacked and floating conditions. According to Seaqualize, these floating-to-floating and floating-to-fixed lifts were operational tests of typical challenges in the offshore wind industry: installing turbine components using a floating vessel, or picking up components from a floating supply vessel.
During the tests, several gentle set downs and quick liftoffs were performed. MARIN observed that the tool is able to control the load within an envelope of 5 cm (2 in.), with minimal accelerations and dynamic crane forces. Liftoffs were performed with 90% of the load already in the hook of the crane before liftoff, while still fully compensating all waves. This is said to reduce impact loads on the load, crane, and rigging and results in a controlled and stable liftoff. Finally, the tool showed off its “follow-mode,” where the test weight could actively match all heave motions of the target vessel, to further minimize set-down impact for floating-to-floating set downs.
The company said this offshore trial was also the last step in full DNV product certification as a standard offshore lifting tool. The research project was executed with a grant from the Ministry of Economic affairs of the Netherlands and included Dutch research agency TNO.
11/22/2021
