MacGregor to supply pile gripper frame for offshore wind foundation vessel

Oct. 20, 2020
Kongsberg Maritime has contracted MacGregor to support a pile gripper guidance system for the Alfa Lift, a new offshore wind foundation installation vessel due to be delivered in 2021.

Offshore staff

KONGSBERG, Norway – Kongsberg Maritime (KM) has contracted MacGregor to support a pile gripper guidance system (PGGS) for the Alfa Lift, a new offshore wind foundation installation vessel due to be delivered in 2021.

The vessel, which will be equipped with a 3,000-t main crane, will also have a 10,000 sq m-plus (107,639-sq ft) ‘smart’ deck that can support up to 14 XL monopiles per voyage, and will be fully submersible to a depth of 14.66 m (48 ft).

MacGregor will provide the motion-compensated pile gripper frame: Kongsberg’s PGGS will integrate the gripper with other KM equipment on board the vessel. The new monopile installation solution is said to remove the requirement for temporary mooring procedures during installation operations.

The Alfa Lift’s A K-Pos dual-redundant dynamic positioning system will interface with a K-Chief marine automation system and K-Thrust thruster control system, while a K-Bridge integrated navigation system will provide a single, intuitive user interface for the ship’s multiple connected systems.

KM’s azimuth and tunnel thrusters will supply the vessel’s propulsion, steering and positioning thrust.

10/20/2020