Offshore
Offshore Trailer
Offshore
FSG has been paying a lot of attention to the offshore issue for some time. Based as we are in Schleswig-Holstein, activity in the offshore wind energy sector is a natural focus of yard interest.
Most attention in the current phase of development in this still young industrial sector centres on the establishment of wind parks and on linking them to the electricity grids. However, maintenance, repair, repowering and dismantling are also in the frame. These operational sectors, each with their own particular tasks to perform, place differing demands on the ship as a tool. Sea-based working procedures have so far only been standardised to a limited extent. Because of this, existing standards have had to be adapted and are only partly suitable for the efficient and reliable completion of tasks in hand.
The yard’s strategy here is to beneficially deploy in the olffshore sector the same simulation technology that it has used to date for its current portfolio. Offshore work can thus be analysed against a background of realistic weather conditions with logistic chain factors also brought into the equation. With the help of the yard’s own design methods, for example, precise predictions of ship behaviour at sea can also be made. As a result, customers and the yard, working together during product development, gain valuable insights into the general demands likely to be placed on vessels and on how technical systems can best be arranged.
The focus of the yard’s development work in the offshore sector to date has been on jack-up crane ships for the erection and maintenance of wind parks at sea. The yard is also working on projects for offshore supply ships for wind park service and on cable layers for service in grid linking.
Offshore Animation
Shipclass:
FSG - Offshore Service Vessel
Facts:
| Length over all | 126.50 m |
| Length between perp. | 88.30 m |
| Breadth, Max. | 37.50 m |
| Depth to Main Deck | 8.00 m |
| Draught |
4.90 m |
| DWT | abt. 2,000 t |
| Service Speed | 8 kn |
| Autonomy | 20 days |
| Crew | 27 persons |
| Service Crew | 25 persons |
| Main Crane Capacity | 500 t at 20m outreach |
Highlights:
The jack-up crane vessel is designed for heavy lift offshore operations, especially service operation in the field of offshore wind or as heavy lift component of an installation supply chain. The vessel is designed for operation in the challenging environmental conditions of the North Sea and waters up to 50 metres depth. For safe operation in the wind farm a dynamic positioning system according to IMO DP2 standard has been considered. The four legs are driven by a hydraulic operated pin-in-hole jacking system. One of the key components is the main crane with a maximum lifting capacity of 500 t and a maximum hooK height of 120m above main deck.
Logistics concept
Simulation technology can also be utilised as a basis for decisions on the design and operation of the logistic procedures required in the installation of wind parks. The dynamics associated with the dependencies in play along the logistics chain can be measured and the diverse factors influencing them can be taken into account. In this way, different installation concepts for wind parks can be compared using a wide range of adjustable framework conditions and the most suitable concept selected. For example, the type of installation vessel and delivery method can be varied.
Simulation studies into the installation of offshore wind parks have already been carried out at FSG and at its co-operating partners. In the course of these studies, based on the Simulation Toolkit Shipbuilding (STS) programme, building blocks and modules were developed for an efficient model configuration and operation structure. Depending on the objectives and availability of simulation parameters, procedures can be displayed in varying degrees of detail. The modular structure of the building blocks permits whatever display of working processes or influence factors is required.
The adjustment possibilities of the simulation models include:
- the number and characteristics of ships (load capacity, speed dependent on route etc)
- the structure of wind parks (number and type of wind energy turbines, distance between them, etc.)
- distance of the wind parks from ports and process times or speeds (jacking speed, set-up time, assembly times per element type and other conditions etc)
The adjustment possibilities on the simulation models are expandable in each direction because STS building blocks are used.
As well as a wide range of technical and organisational influences and conditions, weather factors can also be taken into account in simulation. Real as well as statistical weather data on different sea routes are available at FSG. With the help of the STS weather building block, changing weather parameters can be aggregated into weather conditions. These conditions, or a prognosis in the sense of a weather forecast, can then be defined as a precondition for work operations such as crane transport or jacking up.
Furthermore, because of the changing weather parameters during the simulation process, times and speeds can also be taken into account. In this way weather influences on logistics, on assembly processes - even on absence rates for employees - can all be simulated.
