NAVANTIA puts vertical the first block of the floating structure for Hywind
04 March 2016 | Madrid
NAVANTIA has performed the turning maneuver of the first collet corresponding to block no. 200 of the first substructure of the Hywind program for Statoil, which is something similar to launching the keel in shipbuilding.
The collet, with a weight of around 70 Tons and a 14.4 meter diameter, has ended its mounting and welding in horizontal, and continues its manufacturing process, now in the collet and crocodile assembly line. On the above mentioned collet will be mounted the remaining collets, up to 10 of them, until completing the first block no. 200.
The maneuver, which is possible thanks to the new 80-Tons portal jib crane, recently purchased for the slab blocks workshop as part of NAVANTIA’s investment program for this project. It represents an important milestone in the activities carried out by this workshop, since it inaugurates the final assembly line of the slab blocks workshop.
It is envisaged that this first set of substructures will be the start of a larger series of artifacts (possibly between 40 and 60), to be ordered in 2017, and with the entry into operation of the offshore wind park in 2020.
The order, won by the joint venture between NAVANTIA and Windar in June of last year, consists in the construction of 5 floating SPAR-class substructures for the offshore wind farm located on Scotland’s East coast by Hywind (Scotland) Ltd., an affiliated company of Statoil ASA. It entails more than 450,000 hours of work, and it has required an important refurbishment of the facilities and the purchase of machinery, as well as the entry into service of the building berth no. 1 at the Fene’s shipyard, at which will be put afloat each of the 5 floating structures through their launching.
The floating offshore wind farm is the only option for exploiting wind power in deep waters, and within a decade it will be the only feasible option, as the middle-depth
About NAVANTIA
NAVANTIA constitutes a world reference in the design, construction and integration of warships with a high-technological content, as well as ship repairs and upgrades. Besides, its activity lines include the design and manufacturing of combat and command and control systems, integrated platform management systems, firing control systems, propulsion engines and the Life Cycle Support for all its products. Although its main activity is in the naval field, NAVANTIA also designs and manufactures systems for the Army and the Air Force.
NAVANTIA is part of Grupo SEPI, a corporate holding which includes a total of 16 state-owned companies in which it has direct, majority shareholding participations, with a workforce of around 73,000 professionals in 2014; the Spanish state-owned television and radio corporation, Corporación Radiotelevisión Española, which is attached to SEPI, and one public foundation. Equally, SEPI has direct minority shareholdings in a further ten companies, and indirect shareholdings in more than one hundred companies.