Candies vessel is the stage for Ampelmann’s 10 millionth personnel transfer

Cade Candies is fitted with a similar Ampelmann W2W gangway to that installed on Paul Candies, pictured here [Image: Ampelmann]

Offshore walk-to-work (W2W) access provider Ampelmann has reached the milestone of 10 million personnel transfers across its worldwide operations. The 10 millionth transfer took place on an E1000 gangway operating on the Cade Candies, an offshore vessel owned by Des Allemands, La., based Otto Candies that is facilitating the construction and commissioning of turbines on the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm. Underscoring the adaptability of existing Jones Act offshore support vessels for offshore wind farm work, the Cade Candies is one of two Otto Candies vessels working as an SOV on U.S. offshore wind projects, the other being the Paul Candies (see earlier story). Both are fitted with Ampelmann access systems.

Ampelmann’s gangways can compensate for motions in six degrees of freedom, enabling safe and efficient offshore access for people and cargo. Since its beginnings 15 years ago, the Delft, Netherlands, headquartered company has become a key player in the offshore access industry worldwide.

“This accomplishment is a testament to the safety and efficiency of Walk to Work (W2W) and the fleet that we have developed over the years,” says Jan van der Tempel, Ampelmann’s founder and CEO. “We would like to thank Otto Candies for contributing to this achievement, as well as express our gratitude to our clients, suppliers and everyone else involved in the Ampelmann journey so far.”

With nearly 750,000 successful landings made during 650 individual projects for clients in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas, Ampelmann’s fleet of 70 systems has firmly established W2W as a safe, reliable and efficient means of offshore access. The company looks forward to a year of continued growth and will shortly introduce with its newly developed W-type, a fully integrated modular and electric tower system.

The milestone transfer from the Otto Candies vessel comes on the back of several recent successes and upcoming technical breakthroughs. Not too long ago, Ampelmann reached the benchmark of 30 million kilograms of cargo transferred globally. Marking a tripling of cargo transfers in just four years, this highlights the growing importance of the company’s cargo hoisting systems, such as the A300 and the E1000, particularly in the offshore wind sector. Ampelmann has also made its entry into the floating wind market, as two of its E1000 systems have been successfully operating on Norway’s Hywind Tampen, the largest commercial floating wind farm in the world.

“Fifteen years ago, we were a small spin-off of the Technical University in Delft,” says Van der Tempel. “We started with only one gangway, but our fleet quickly grew and diversified to accommodate an increasing number of work scopes in the offshore energy sector. Our innovative spirit, together with our commitment to improve the safety of offshore operations, have made it possible to sail far beyond the North Sea horizon. As we look to the future, we continue to innovate by designing energy-efficient and modular systems and to work towards our vision of making offshore access as easy as crossing the street.”