IHC Merwede’s Hi-Traq trencher won the New Mechanical Product of the Year award at British Engineering Excellence Awards (BEEAs) event held on October 9 in London.
Mechanical products come in all shapes and sizes, but IHC’s Hi-Traq subsea crawler vehicle is big. And the design challenges involved were equally large.
Hi-Traq provides the ability to ensure safe burial of inter-array cables for the offshore renewables industry through the use of an innovative self levelling system controlling four, independently driven track undercarriages. As Hi-Traq has the capacity for short radius trenching, the vehicle can reverse up to the base of a turbine and begin operations from the cable exit.
Using a four track system offers improved traction on the seabed in shallow water. The environment found at offshore renewable locations required a manoeuvrable system, which mandated a chassis from which a variety of subsea tasks can be conducted. Hi-Traq is scalable, providing the opportunity to address applications ranging from inter-array trenching to heavy oil and gas subsea decommissioning.
Having analysed available trenching technologies, IHC determined a dedicated subsea crawler would be the best solution for inter-array cable burial.
Hi-Traq has the capacity to stay on station in the high currents and wave action found at offshore renewable locations and so reduces operational downtime associated with conventional equipment.
BEEAs Judges said: “A world first turnkey project that met all customer requirements in an extremely challenging environment.”
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Source: BEEAs; Image: IHC