Northumberland engineering company supports US offshore wind project

Osbit, offshore wind technology supplier and member company in Venterra Group, has successfully delivered a monopile upending hinge to Boskalis to support its latest US East Coast operations.

The hinge is initially being used by Boskalis on a project to install a significant number of monopile foundations.

The hinge is designed to upend offshore wind monopile foundations from their horizontal, stowed position, until they are vertical, securely restraining the pile against environmental loading throughout the process as it rotates through the water column.

The system handles monopiles with a wide range of diameters to maximise Boskalis’ opportunities on future wind farms. The hinge itself weighs in at 1,500 tonnes when fully assembled.

The system is installed on Boskalis’ Bokalift 2 crane vessel and is forming a ‘vital’ part of the monopile installation process, working in tandem with the vessel’s crane to ensure the foundations are manipulated in a safe and controlled manner, prior to hammering into the seabed.

Osbit has built a strong track record in the design and build of offshore foundation installation equipment, having previously delivered upending hinges, monopile grippers and monopile cleaning tools.

Ben Webster, Osbit’s sales director, commented: “This is the third upending hinge system Osbit will supply and is our first for Boskalis. We are delighted to have successfully delivered this important project, which will enable Boskalis to carry out installation activities in the rapidly growing US offshore wind market.

“Foundation installation is a core technology area for Osbit. We continue to develop and deliver systems to and meet the demands of increasing foundation and turbine sizes on projects across the globe, and we believe this to be the longest upending hinge produced to date.

“We’ve collaborated very closely with the Boskalis team, and we’re delighted to support the system further, following the successful installation of the first part of the project.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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