MacGregor wins order for monopile installation system

Cargotec subsidiary, MacGregor, has won a contract to supply the monopile installation system for the world’s largest custom-built offshore wind installation vessel, Alfa Lift¸ currently under construction at China Merchants Heavy Industry in Jiangsu, China, for Norway’s Offshore Heavy Transport AS (OHT).

The installation system, which represents MacGregor’s largest-ever single vessel contract, has been booked in Cargotec’s third quarter order intake and will be delivered to the shipyard during the fourth quarter of 2021.

The contract involves the engineering, procurement and construction of the monopile lifting, skidding and transfer system, which facilitates the installation process with an upending tool and a motion-compensated gripper frame. The gripper frame will be integrated with Alfa Lift’s own dynamic positioning system through a process developed jointly by MacGregor and Kongsberg Maritime. This automated process, the companies believe, will result in a safer and faster installation process. Alfa Lift will have a 3,000-tonne crane and a 10,000m² ‘smart deck’ which can be submerged to a depth of 14.66m and will be capable of carrying 14 XL monopiles per voyage.

Torgeir E. Ramstad, chief executive officer of OHT, commented: “Whenever we ask MacGregor to solve operational challenges in the demanding marine environment, they together with partners demonstrate excellent technical understanding and respond quickly. We are extremely pleased to be working together on the exciting Alfa Lift project.”