Allseas to deploy Pioneering Spirit for Baltic wind farm substation installation

Photo: Allseas

Allseas has been contracted for the transport and installation (T&I) of two major substations for the Gennaker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, developed by transmission operator 50Hertz.

Allseas will deploy the world’s largest heavy lift vessel, Pioneering Spirit, for the project, utilizing the giant vessel’s unique transport and lift capability to install the suction bucket jackets and the 61-meter-long, 34-meter-wide topsides in one offshore campaign. This reduces operations offshore, making the installations safer and faster.

Designed for offshore installation and decommissioning work, Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit is capable of lifting entire platform topsides of up to 48,000 tonnes and jackets up to 20,000 tonnes in a single piece.

The twin-hulled vessel is 382 meters long and 124 meters wide. At the bow is a slot, 122 meters long and 59 meters wide, that enables Pioneering Spirit to move around an offshore platform and lift and transport entire topsides using eight sets of horizontal lifting beams.

Located 15 kilometers off the German coast near the Darß peninsula, and with a production capacity of 900 MW, Gennaker will be the largest and most powerful offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea to date.

Awarded Allseas by the Dutch-Belgian HSI consortium – HSM Offshore Energy, Smulders and Iv-Offshore & Energy – the contract is for the Gennaker West (OSS-DarB) and East (OSS-Zingst) converter platforms, including supporting suction bucket jackets. The HSI Joint Venture is responsible for delivering the two platforms.

Allseas says this latest award further enhances its offshore wind installation credentials, and the key role Pioneering Spirit is set to play delivering critical assets for offshore energy and wind developments across Europe.