One of the world’s largest installation vessels will be used to install offshore wind farm DanTysk’s 80 turbines in the North Sea. The Pacific Osprey operated by Danish company Swire Blue Ocean was named in a ceremony on 3 April.
Vattenfall and its partner Stadtwerke München are investing a little over EUR 1 billion in the DanTysk offshore wind farm, which is expected to supply 400,000 German homes with renewable power by 2014.
Starting this summer, the Pacific Osprey will install the 80 DanTysk Siemens turbines. The installation vessel constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea offers a crane capability of 1.200 tonnes, a transit speed in excess of 13 knots, single cabin accommodation for 111 people, and the ability to operate in water depths of up to 75 metres.
Superior characteristics
Holger Grubel, Project Director of the DanTysk wind farm, says: “Thanks to the superior characteristics of the Pacific Osprey that meet all our main requirements in terms of safety, efficiency and performance, we expect the installation of the turbines to run smoothly. The vessel has a capacity of carrying and installing up to 11 3.6 MW units at a time. We are very happy to have secured the Pacific Osprey for the construction of one of Europe’s largest offshore wind farms.”
Naming ceremony
Commencing in the summer, the vessel will load the wind turbines at Esbjerg in Denmark before being transported to the DanTysk construction site 90 kilometres west of the island Sylt in the German North Sea.
A naming ceremony for the Pacific Osprey was held on 3 April at the Fayard shipyard in Danish Odense.
To be commissioned 2014
The DanTysk offshore wind farm is scheduled to be commissioned in 2014 and will have a capacity of 288 MW, or more than twice that of the Swedish wind farm at Lillgrund. It is a joint venture between Vattenfall and Stadtwerke München.
Facts Pacific Osprey
The vessel’s particulars include a length of 161 metres, a breadth of 49 metres and a depth of 10.4 metres. By fixing her six jack-up legs to the seabed and lifting herself up to 17 metres above the surface of the ocean, Pacific Osprey can conduct offshore wind farm installation in a manner least affected by wind and waves, and with maximum accuracy and promptness.
Combined with a usable deck area in excess of 4.000 square metres and a total jackable weight of 8.400 tonnes, the vessel offers operational flexibility in the installation of offshore wind farms.
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DanTysk, April 5, 2013; Image: Vattenfall