Offshore staff
RIDING MILL, UK — Osbit has delivered Swordfish, a subsea trenching vehicle, to Jan de Nul for protection of subsea cables for offshore wind developments.
Swordfish is driven by 1.2 MW of subsea electrical power, with a combination of direct drive and hydraulic distribution.
According to Osbit, the vehicle can be quickly reconfigured for jetting (high-powered water fluidization of the seabed) or mechanical chain cutting modes to suit the varying conditions around planned wind farms and export routes.
In jetting configuration, the jetting tools and controllable water power are said to allow high progress rates through sands and weak clays. In cutting configuration, high hydraulic drive power is supplemented by water injection to facilitate spoil transport to the high-powered eduction system.
Osbit engineers completed detailed design, manufacture, assembly and testing in just over a year, delivering the vehicle from the company’s assembly base at the Port of Blyth in Northumberland.
It has since been shipped to Belgium for mobilization and installation.
09.29.2022
