IHC Hydrohammer®, part of IHC Merwede, has successfully used seawater – instead of oil – as a drive mechanism for the offshore installation industry. The company has developed and tested IHC Waterhammer® technology to prepare it for launch to the market.
This sustainable product development minimises potential oil spill hazards in the marine environment and presents new opportunities for deep-water offshore pile driving that will be beneficial to the future growth of offshore construction. The S-90W IHC Waterhammer has been utilised in conjunction with Swiber Offshore Construction.
The installation contractor used the advanced pile-driving hammer to install four foundation piles on the subsea PLEM (pipeline end manifold) located approximately 210km off the west coast of Mumbai, India. The Ø 1.1m piles were successfully driven into the seabed to highlight that both the S-90W and S-500W IHC Waterhammers are now ready to be used in the offshore oil and gas industry.
“Swiber is proud to be the first offshore company to have successfully tested the seawater-driven S-90W IHC Waterhammer,” says Francis Wong , Swiber’s Group Chief Executive Officer and President. “ The IHC Waterhammers provide the same level of efficiency as conventional IHC Hydrohammers and serve as an environmentally friendly alternative. Indeed, we would like to congratulate IHC Hydrohammer on this successful test and look forward to using these products again in the future.”
IHC Hydrohammer Managing Director Jan Albert Westerbeek says, “This successful test is a milestone in the development of offshore pile driving. IHC Hydrohammer has formed an excellent partnership with Swiber on this and other projects, as both companies share a proactive approach towards innovation. This latest development shows the power of cooperation between the two parties, which have been able to take the lead in product development and set the benchmark for the whole sector.”