When Maersk Supply Service enters the US offshore wind market with their newly announced pioneering wind installation vessel (WIV) in 2025, the innovative concept will feature a patented load transfer system jointly developed by OSK Design and Maersk Supply Service. Together, the engineers of both companies have developed an innovative transfer system expected to improve offshore installation efficiency with up to 30% by rethinking the conventional installation methodology altogether.
Shaving off substantial transit time
It’s been three years in the making since the very first brainstorming sessions, but on the 29th of March Maersk Supply Service (MSS) could finally reveal the innovative concept for their new pioneering Wind Installation Vessel with unique feedering capabilities. In conventional installation operations, jack-up vessels are used both for transporting turbine components from port to location and for the following installation before the process is repeated with next the load. With the new WIV concept, a specialised fleet of tugs and feeder barges will carry out the time-consuming transportation between port and site, freeing the jack-up from transportation and allowing it to remain on location to carry out successive installations.
“It is fantastic to see this concept finally come alive,” says Anders Ørgård, CCO of OSK Design. And continues: “We are very happy to have been on this innovation journey together with Maersk Supply Service assisting them with the concept development and concept design, through the following development process with structural calculations for legs, turbine component transport frames, and jacking system capacity, over the motion studies, main hull design, and to an actual general arrangement. Now we’re on the final stretch assisting MSS with drawing approval during the detail design phase. Over the years we have assisted a broad range of international offshore operators with their specific technical challenges, and this innovation project represents yet another significant engineering milestone since we assisted A2Sea with the conversion of the world’s first vessel for installation of offshore wind turbines.”
Maximising the installation window
A key challenge in offshore installations is the harsh weather conditions naturally characterising the farms’ location out at sea. Hence, with the new feeder solution, the engineers also had to manage the risks involved in the lifting operations, where components are transferred from a floating barge to a fixed jack-up. To allow for a safe transfer operation, the engineers of OSK invented a load transfer system, where the jack-up locks the barge in position and pushes it into the sea to eliminate wave motions and stabilise the barge. This innovative ‘push concept’ enables a safe craning operation from one stable or fixed platform to another. As a result, the operational window for MSS expands significantly, as unloading and installations can take place in wave conditions exceeding 2 meters.
“We are very excited to have worked together with Maersk Supply Service inventing this load transfer system, which they have now patented. These cooperative processes where we contribute to solving the client’s technical challenge is the essence of what we do. But also the fact that this vessel improves installation efficiency with up to 30% speaks directly to the core of our purpose in OSK. We want to be known as a ship design company who has maximum influence on our industry with minimum impact on the environment,” says Jacob Høgh Thygesen, CEO of OSK Design. He continues: “And when our design solutions additionally lead to patents for our clients, it makes me extra proud of our skilled engineering team and creative design talents that we have onboard here in OSK.”
Video: OSK Group develops patented load transfer system together with Maersk Supply Service ©OSK Group
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For further information about OSK Design and the patented load transfer system, please contact Jacob Høgh Thygesen, CEO of OSK Design.
Phone: +45 31 10 72 72 or mail: jht@oskdesign.com
About OSK Design
We are a full-line supplier of maritime design and consultancy services to clients all over the world with more than fifty years’ experience and a unique combination of technical and commercial expertise. We design for operators large and small, international and domestic, as well as for yards all over the world.With a strong position on the global maritime market, it is our responsibility to attract and develop the greatest minds in the field securing the best consultancy to our clients within concept development, newbuildings and retrofits, and much more.
Our purpose is to design and enable sustainable seaborne travel together with our customers. We want to be recognised for bold and conscientious ship design with maximum influence on our industry and minimum impact on the environment.
