Fugro’s Offshore Wind Farm Drill Ready

Posted by Greg Trauthwein January 9, 2014

The new T120 drill on top of the Conductor (framework that lifts it above the waves) all in yellow, and also showing the down hole equipment in blue. It will be configured as shown here and attached to the orange steel frame which is fixed to the deck of the transport installation vessel (TIV).

Fugro Seacore is building a pile top drill, the T120, for the offshore wind farm market to assist with monopole installations of up to eight meters diameter.

The development represents a significant step forward in capacity, as Its current big drill has 90 metric tons of rotational torque; the new one will have 120 metric tons. This new addition to the fleet means they will have two drills capable of relief drilling piles of larger than six-meter diameter simultaneously, for instances where larger monopiles are the chosen foundation for the wind farm sites of round three in U.K. waters and elsewhere in the European market.
“Our drilling rigs and associated equipment are custom built with specific markets and projects in mind,” said Alun Jones of Fugro Seacore. “We are constantly seeking to expand the parameters of drilling technology and enjoy rising to challenges, such as recently completing a 6.5-meter diameter by 63-m deep shaft – the largest drilled marine socket in the world.”
The entire pile top drill set-up, weighing approximately 350 metric tons, was scheduled to be completed this month and on site in early February 2014.
www.fugroseacore.com

(As published in the November/December 2013 edition of Marine Technology Reporter - www.seadiscovery.com)