A MASSIVE, jack-up vessel is now sitting nine miles off of Stonehaven at the Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm.
The Obana is the world’s largest vessel of its type and was created by joining two former drilling rigs – the Brage and Gabrus – along with a new mid-section constructed in Dubai. The self-elevating, heavy-lift jack-up platform is designed to operate in water depths of up to 65 m and sports a 3,800m² deck that can carry up to 12,000 tonnes. Its 2,000-tonne crane is usually used to lift and remove decommissioned oil and gas platforms.
According to the KIS-ORCA project the Obana is on site to assist with a four-week programme of maintenance work at the Kincardine Field, which will see main component exchange on four of the turbines.
World first in situ generator swap
Can floating structures be ground breaking? Kincardine has been pioneering offshore technology since its inception. At 50MW it was the world’s largest operating floating offshore wind farm when it was completed in late 2021.
It held this title until November 2022, when the 88 MW Hywind Tampen wind farm in Norway began operations.
More recently, the wind farm made a world-first achievement by performing an on-site major component exchange on a floating wind turbine. A collaborative host of technologies and expertise from LiftOff, Vestas, Dragados S.A., Kincardine Offshore Windfarm Limited (KOWL) and Cobra Wind International Limited (CWIL) were involved in the project that saw a crane being mounted on the tower with the work executed from a support vessel.
Only four years ago, one of the turbines had to be towed back to Rotterdam where it had been assembled by Vestas to facilitate a repair to a failed component. The proven ability to maintain on site could prove a game changer for a raft of projects keen to exploit the deeper, windier waters of the North Sea: Green Volt, Aspen, Beech, Cedar, Utsira Nord, Salamander and Bellrock.
Feature image – the Obana in situ at the Kincardine Offshore Wind Farm