Athens: DeepOcean 1 UK, part of the Netherlands-based DeepOcean Group, has won a inter-array cable installation contract for phase II of Belgium’s Bligh Bank offshore wind farm.
Fifty 3.3-mW wind turbines, capable of generating a combined 165 mW of electricity, are to be installed in the project by developer Nobelwind.
“This award of array cables installation for Nobelwind is the first commitment for DeepOcean’s new chartered cable lay vessel, currently being constructed by Damen Yard for delivery early 2016,” said Ottar Maeland, DeepOcean’s executive vice-president, Greater North Sea.
The contract’s scope of work for DeepOcean includes pre-lay surveys, pre-lay grapnel runs, installation and trenching of 50 array cables, design and supply of the cable protection systems, installation and trenching of a coupling cable between two offshore high-voltage substations; pull-in and trenching of the pre-installed Nobelwind export cable and all associated design and engineering activities.
DeepOcean’s DP2 support vessel Deep Helder will support cable lay operations executing crossing preparations, surveys, foundation preparation for the cable pull-ins.
The trenching support vessel Volantis has been nominated for all trenching operations.
The company says it has already started design and engineering work for the project. Offshore execution will start in the third quarter 2016 and run until the end of the year.
The optional termination and testing work carry on into the first half of 2017, DeepOcean said.
