Boskalis has signed a contract with partners DONG Energy and Scottish Power Renewables for the partial construction of the “West of Duddon Sands” offshore wind park in the Irish Sea. The work comprises the preparation of the seabed and the transport and placing of 108 wind turbine foundations.

The project will be carried out by Boskalis Offshore and SMIT Marine Projects in collaboration with partner Volker Construction International. The project includes the transport of the foundations, consisting of monopiles and transition pieces, from Aalborg in Denmark to Belfast in Northern Ireland, by SMIT’s oceangoing flat-top barges and tugs. An initial scour protection filter layer will be placed on the seabed at each location by a Boskalis fallpipe vessel, after which the monopiles and transition pieces will be transported from Belfast to the wind park where they will be installed. Once the installation has been completed, a further scour protection layer around the piles will be laid, this time with a larger stone fraction, using the same fallpipe vessel. The combined contract value for Boskalis-SMIT amounts to approximately EUR 70 million. The work will commence in the first quarter of 2013 and be completed mid-2014.

In addition, Boskalis will carry out stone-dumping work on behalf of Seajacks for the Meerwind offshore wind park that is being developed by WindMW in the German section of the North Sea. The project involves the placement of an erosion protection filter layer on the seabed using a fallpipe vessel after which Seajacks will install 80 wind turbine foundations. Following the installation of the 80 monopiles, the same fallpipe vessel will be used to apply further erosion protection around the foundations consisting of stones with a larger fraction size (up to 500 kilograms each). This will provide optimal erosion protection for the monopiles arising from local wave and current conditions. Work is scheduled to start in August 2012 with completion expected in mid-2013.

Furthermore, Boskalis won a contract through SMIT Subsea, to carry out inspection, repair and maintenance work around 20 offshore oil production platforms and related infrastructure for Maersk Oil in the Danish section of the North Sea. The work will be carried out using two of SMIT’s Diving Support Vessels as well as a vessel with a Remote Operating Vehicle. Depending on the depth of the water, subsea diving will involve both saturation and air diving. These activities will take place in the course of 2012.

Boskalis’ strategy is aimed at benefitting from key macro-economic factors which drive worldwide demand in our markets: expansion of the global economy, increase in energy consumption, global population growth and the challenges that go hand in hand with climate change. These projects are closely related to the development of generating renewable energy due to climate change and increasing energy consumption.

Subsea World News Staff , May 02, 2012; Image: Boskalis