Getting A Grip – a Closer Look at the Aeolus Monopile Gripper
At the end of July, Van Oord’s new jack-up vessel, Aeolus, completed the first monopile installation at the Eneco Luchterduinen offshore wind farm in the Dutch North Sea. Van Oord performed the installation using the innovative monopile gripper designed by Rotterdam-based engineering and design company Temporary Works Design (TWD).
Measuring 20 x 10.5 x 21m, the gripper is designed to keep the monopiles in the correct position and inclination during installation – at the same time counteracting the wave, wind, and current loads. The hydraulically operated gripper arms hold the monopile securely in place during positioning and hammering. For the hydraulic drive and control system, Van Oord contracted the Dutch hydraulic specialist, Hycom.
Breman Machinery constructed the 450t monopile gripper. They carried out final assembly at their IJmuiden facilities prior to installation on Aeolus in mid-July. “Although the monopile gripper is very large, it still looks very small once installed on the Aeolus,” says Gijsbert Kamp, Project Manager at Breman Machinery referring to the immense scale of the 139.4m vessel. “It is a large system, but this is just the daily work that we perform for our customers.”
Click to watch a video illustrating the monopile gripper in use at the Eneco Luchterduinen Offshore Wind Farm.
