MAINTENANCE
WHY USE A CRANE AT ALL?
Some of our maintenance services typically include, but are not limited to: • Design of custom lifting systems for offshore maintenance • Mobilization of equipment to and from port • Quayside crane lifting of gearboxes, generators and motors • Load-in and load-out of maintenance equipment • Road transport of replacement parts from factory to port • Storage of components at or near to port
Mammoet has used its experience honed throughout decades elsewhere in heavy industry to develop lifting systems that can reach locations that cranes cannot. The high cost and relatively short supply of crane vessels has meant that it is quicker and more cost-effective to design custom lifting systems. Conbit, part of Mammoet, specializes in just these scenarios. By constructing modular lifting gantries, replacement parts of up to 200t can be lifted from a waiting vessel directly to the nacelle of the wind turbine. At offshore wind substa- tions, we can take on any challenges beyond the reach of a deck crane. This makes it possible to complete certain types of maintenance and modification operations without the need for a heavy lift vessel, allowing transformers and other heavy equip- ment to be replaced without having to wait for transport availability.
M aintenance activities have been taking place at sea for many decades, across the energy sector. While many aspects of this are trans- ferrable, one is not: where in other sectors there are hundreds of locations, in offshore wind there will be many thousands. As offshore wind farms age, the likelihood of maintenance events will increase. Delivering the right equipment to the repair location will be a challenge in itself. Intense competition will develop for the use of crane vessels; many of which will be too short to repair turbines at sea in any case. The significant technical challenge of performing repairs while floating is another issue. Mammoet is innovating to develop solutions that will help maintenance to take place more easily. By utilizing gan- try lifting systems attached to the turbine itself, items up to 200t can be lifted to and from the nacelle, facilitating repair of motors, gearboxes and generators at sea. Lifting systems using the turbine for support allow operators to respond more quickly to incidents, storing maintenance equipment locally for re-use. In this way, uptime is maximized, helping each offshore wind farm to deliver the greatest possible return on investment.
GETTING IT THERE Offshore wind maintenance operations will require the transport of replacement turbine and substation equipment from the factory to the nearest suitable port. Mammoet has a wide selection of specialist low-bed trailers, blade clamps, tower clamps and other equipment to complete this job quickly and safely. Using advanced techniques such as LIDAR scanning, we can find the fastest route between the point of manufacture and use. This can cut down on project cost significantly, as fewer modifications will be necessary to roads, bridges and tunnels along the route.
“We estimate that 25% of offshore wind turbines will have a maintenance incident during their lifetime. Moreover, in floating wind, there is some uncertainty over how constant movement will affect the reliability of turbine components. A large part of the operating expenditure of offshore wind farms will focus on repair of turbines. While it is inevitable that there is some randomness involved, innovative solutions can reduce the time taken to resolve incidents. Custom lifting gantries are ideally suited to the offshore wind environment, where local port infrastructure may not be ideal, and maintenance events may be spread over a large geographical area”. Bram van Oirschot , Sales Manager for Conbit; part of Mammoet
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