North American Windpower: Companies Complete Testing Of New Offshore Installation Technology

Companies Complete Testing Of New Offshore Installation Technology

in News Departments > Projects & Contracts

by NAW Staff on Tuesday 05 February 2013

Barge Master and GeoSea have recently completed their final offshore test as part of a series of trials of Barge Master's offshore motion-compensation solutions.

Barge Master's new motion-compensating, heavy-load platform - called the Barge Master - compensates vessel motions and allows safe working in more extreme sea conditions, thus increasing workability windows for offshore supply and installation operations, the company explains.

The workability during offshore supply and installation operations is strongly influenced by both weather and sea conditions. The “swell” (long waves) has an especially significant impact on the motions of supply vessels and crane barges, often putting onboard personnel, equipment and installation components at risk. In such instances, work is interrupted, leading to extra costs and tight time schedules.

GeoSea believes that the use of the Barge Master system will be beneficial to its offshore supply and installation methodologies. The final test encompassed an offshore supply operation involving GeoSea’s jack-up barge and Barge Master’s newly built BM-001 platform, mounted on a standard North Sea barge. An offshore supply scenario was staged in the concession zone of the future wind farm, Rentel, located in the Belgian North Sea.

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