ROVS
FEATURE SPONSOR
LINCS PROJECT In mid-2012 the Q1400 performed its first assignment on Centrica’s LINCS project which involved post-trenching 16 x 120mm diameter array cables over a distance of around 16 km to a trench depth of 1.2m. The work involved mechanical cutting through cobbles, flints and chalk with boulder clay, at speeds between 100/150 m/hr.
Subsequently the Q1400 switched to jetting mode to entrench several turbine cable ends. Since then Fugro has successfully trenched power cable arrays on three wind farms and four oil projects.
GWYNT Y MÔR WIND FARM In September 2014 Fugro successfully completed the trenching and burial of inter- array cables for CT Offshore at the Gwynt y Môr wind farm off the North Wales coast, currently the largest offshore wind farm under construction in Europe.
Altogether 37 cables were trenched into very hard seabed with a mixture of seabed soils comprising hard clays interspersed with boulders and cobbles, gravels and sand. Despite these demanding conditions the Q1400 was successful in burying all the cables, which would have been beyond the capabilities of standard jet trenching systems.
COST SAVING
“The Q1400 has the manoeuvrability and compact size to be able to trench right up to the cable protection system, minimising the need for rock dumping or mattressing, potentially saving costs,” said Mike Daniel, Trenching Business Line Manager at FSSL.
OVERCOMING CHALLENGES THROUGH CO-OPERATION
Flexible Trenching
Subsea contractors trenching for offshore wind farm cable burial encounter a wide range of seabed morphology ranging from loose granular soils to hard clay with boulders, demanding different techniques and equipment.
COLLABORATION
In 2011 Aberdeen-based Fugro Subsea Services Limited (FSSL) and Soil Machine Dynamics Limited (SMD) collaborated over the design of a radically new, all-purpose trenching system, the Q1400. Conventional trenchers use either water jetting or chain cutting. Uniquely, the Q1400 provides interchangeable water jet and chain cutting skids which can be switched, onboard the vessel while at sea, in under 16 hours.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
“We experienced outstanding co-operation with the Fugro team throughout the Gwynt y Môr project” said Jimmy Laursen, Project Manager at CT Offshore A/S. “We faced many challenges, especially with the demanding soil conditions on the project. With Fugro as our trenching partner, we were able to overcome these challenges and accomplished the installation and burial of the inter-array cables in the safest and most efficient way.”
One of the two Fugro Q1400 trenchers is fully integrated into the Fugro Saltire providing both jet and mechanical chain cutting from a single vessel. Fugro plans to deploy the second Q1400 in 2015.
Soil Machine Dynamics Limited (SMD) Fugro Subsea Services Limited (FSSL)
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