SeaGen Installation - Surface Positioning

Marine Current Turbines Ltd (MCT) recently completed work in Strangford Lough (Northern Ireland) on the installation of its 1.2MW SeaGen tidal energy device. Initial deployment of the SeaGen turbine was carried out by the crane barge Rambiz. Insight Marine were subsequently contracted to provide surface positioning to the crane barge 'Missing Link' during topside installation and remedial piling.

 SeaGen artist's impression

Accurate positioning was required during the delicate task of mooring the barge within an eight-point spread in up to 8kts of tide. Remote helmsman's displays allowed the barge master and local pilots to fine tune the mooring process and subsequently monitor any movement during each tidal cycle.

The Hemisphere VS110 DGPS was used in conjunction with the QINSy navigation software. Networked displays allowed positional data to be displayed at various points around the vessel.

 Crane barge - Rambiz

Meteorological conditions were also monitored and logged for daily analysis. Data was used to populate a numerical model to help set safe working limits within such a potentially dangerous environment.

Download the SeaGen case study (PDF)