The Pacific Orca and the Pacific Osprey, its sister ship, are listed in the “Guinness World Records” as the world’s two largest ships.
Designed by Knud E. Hansen in Denmark, the ships were designed to withstand stormy seas during the process of installing wind turbines.
Equipped with six truss-type legs and a state of the art high-speed jacking system, the ship can function as a platform at sea for erecting wind turbines at the rate of one per day.
Once reaching the desired position for the wind turbine to be erected, each ship features the latest technological systems that can utilize its six legs to extend underwater to the seabed to provide pillars to hold each ship in place while each captain at his control room activates the the rack-and-pinion jacking system that elevates the ship to the height of 22m above the sea surface based on 75 m water depth.
Loaded with all of the parts to the wind turbines to be installed, the ships feature giant cranes onboard that can lift thousands of pounds while operating on their platforms situated adjacent to where the wind turbines are to be erected.
Once the six legs are anchored to the seabed and the ship’s body is elevated to serve as the platform for the cranes to install the wind turbines, the ship can withstand severe storm conditions.
The 1,200 metric ton leg-mounted main crane is capable of installing a 500 metric ton nacelles on top of turbine towers 120 m above the sea.
The huge cargo deck will accommodate up to 3.6MW turbines.
The ship’s bow is designed to withstand heavy seas at a good speed, and the four bow thrusters working in conjunction with the DP-2 dynamic positioning system provides the ship with a state-of-the-art functionality for effective positioning to complete the installation.
The ships contain the necessary offices and other facilities needed to complete the task of setting wind turbines in place.
With 111 single berth cabins that include bathrooms, a cafeteria with seating for 70, a fitness center, two TV lounges, two day rooms, two conference rooms, four multi-purpose offices and its operation office, each ship is well equipped to complete its mission.
The ship can travel up to 13 knots, a speed that cuts down on trips from shore to windfarm locations and back to have more wind turbine parts loaded from the docks.
The jack-up legs used for seafloor stabilization are crucial to the operation of installing wind turbines because the process of stabilization on the seafloor depends on six legs working, and if one or more become cracked or inoperable, a huge problem must then be solved because one leg malfunctioning can destabilize the entire platform that the ship provides.
Hansen, the designer of both the Pacific Osprey and Pacific Orca, designed the ships with six legs, two more than some other ships use for installing wind turbines at sea. He maintains that six legs provide greater stability and allow the ships to operate in more severe weather to avoid a more limited operational window.
Windfarms off the coast of Denmark and other countries are increasing those nations’ clean energy production.
However, environmentalists continue to be concerned about the negative impact the increase of windfarms is having on marine life habitat and the world’s bird population.
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