HydroNAS™
Proven, Lightweight, High Performing and Cost Effective Underwater Noise Mitigation
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Offshore Floating Wind
Owners Engineer - Project Managment
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Proven - High Preformance - Noise Reduction
UNDERWATER NOISE MITIGATION
OFFSHORE FLOATING WIND
Owners Engineer - Project Management
FOUNDATION STABILISATION
TOOL (FST)
Gamechanging Pile to
Jacket Gripper System
Services
Foundation Stabilisation Tool - FST
Game changing pile to jacket gripper system
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Latest News
Low Cost Foundation Stabilisation Solution Receives Certification
Designed by W3G Marine, the Foundation Stabilisation Tool (FST) has been certified by Bureau Veritas to meet the requirements of DNV-ST-0126.
Supported by Iberdrola, the ground-breaking system has been five years in development, including an offshore trial on the East Anglia Windfarm in 2019 and will be deployed commercially during 2022.
After a jacket has been placed onto seabed piles it is typically restrained until the grout has cured. Conventional ‘gripper’ technologies use expensive hydraulic rams, are operated with hydraulic oil and usually require to be integrated into the jacket during fabrication or assembly. The FST is very different and uses the patented ‘packer’ element, which is essentially two sheets of welded steel plate.
The simple design and use of a readily available material results is a low-cost tool which can be manufactured close to the windfarm site providing high levels of local content.
The system provides both radial and axial restraint and limits combined movement to within 1mm during early age cycling. The contact stresses are kept to 10 MPa or less during its operation with no point loading or distortion to the pile.
Packer elements are inflated with water. No hydraulic oil or other chemicals are used which has benefits during installation and for decommissioning.
The system is energised using a patented method from either the installation vessel or a Remote Inflation Unit (RIU) located on the jacket. If required, no personnel need be on the topside until grout has cured.
Alan West, Manging Director of W3G Marine commented,
“We are delighted to see the patented system certified after many years of development. It has many advantages, including cost, safety, environmental and ease of installation.
The main benefit is that it requires minimal work for the assembly yard to install, with a small bundle of low-cost hoses and two fixing screws per gripper required, which are preinstalled in the assembly yard. A common stock of packer elements is held on site and only if grippers are required for that jacket load out are they are attached to the jacket leg with two bolts per gripper and hoses connected.”
You can see the tool in action here W3G FST - YouTube
Established in 2010 W3G Marine are product developers and project managers with experience in offshore marine and renewables projects. W3G have designed installation tools for fixed and floating offshore wind turbine foundations and are currently acting Owners Engineer on the Kincardine Offshore Windfarm, the largest floating offshore windfarm in the world.
21 April 2022
FST Bilbao Poster
In conjunction with Iberdrola, W3G Marine presented its revolutionary 'gripper' technology, the Foundation Stabilisation Tool (FST) at the Wind Europe 2022 exhibition in Bilbao. Following five years of development work and testing, including an offshore trial, the FST has been certified by Bureau Veritas to meet the requirements of DNV-ST-0126. The unique 'gripper' system has many advantages and will be deployed commercially on an Iberdrola windfarm during 2022.
3 April 2022
W3G Marine to showcase its game-changing pile to jacket gripper system
W3G Marine will be showcasing its game-changing pile to jacket gripper system, the Foundation Stabilisation Tool (FST), at the Innovate UK Stand at Wind Energy Asia from 9 - 11 March 2022.
15 Jan 2022
Local Business Supports Delivery of the World’s Largest Offshore Floating Windfarm
W3G Marine, project manager and developer of innovative offshore installation equipment, is pleased to have supported the owners through development and construction of the world’s largest offshore floating windfarm, Kincardine. It is located 15 kms off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, and has an installed capacity of 50MW. Jaime Altolaguirre, Managing Director of KOWL, the windfarm owner and subsidiary of Spanish construction giant, Cobra Group , commented, “We thank W3G Marine for their support in what has been a very exciting and ground-breaking project. Their expertise, professionalism and commitment have been a key part of the project’s success”.
W3G Marine acted as Owners Engineer and Project Manager since early 2018. Managing Director, Alan West, explained, “We joined the project at the pre-construction phase and are delighted to see it delivered safely and successfully, further demonstrating that large scale floating wind has the potential to form part of the energy mix in the future."
Formed in 2010, W3G Marine also offer several patented low-cost installation tools to the offshore energy industries. These include a jacket to pile ‘gripper’ which will be deployed on its first commercial project next year, an underwater noise mitigation system and a turbine installation methodology which can be used to instal any size of turbine onto either a fixed or floating foundation, onshore or offshore and without the need for a large crane, overcoming a key challenge the industry will soon face to further scaling up.
25 Oct 2021