Strainstall sister company, Scotload, the specialist in load measuring and monitoring solutions, has recently provided load monitoring shackles to the MeyGen project to ensure safe offshore operations.
Fellow sister company James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) engaged Scotload to provide two 12.5 tonne load shackles for the MeyGen project to support the turbine installation works for which JFMS was hired.
JFMS also mobilized a full cable spread on the DPII vessel, Olympic Ares, as part of its five-year original equipment manufacturer agreement.
Scotload said its load shackles enabled proof testing of offshore equipment, including two 10 tonne winches and the vessel’s sea fastening.
The load shackles were also used during offshore operations for real-time load monitoring of equipment to ensure critical parameters weren’t exceeded, according to Scotload.
Describing the applications for which the load shackles were used, Andreas Hibler , Offshore Project Manager at JFMS, said: “We used the load shackles for pull-testing all of our winches, from 2.5 to 10 tonnes, and to proof the sea fastening before another round of non-destructive testing, as well as the cable tensioner. At the operational stage, we used them in stoppers for the cable during dry mating operations to ensure that we’re maintaining a suitable outboard tension at all times.”
By providing tension measurements, Scotload’s load shackles also enabled the JFMS team to remain within safety parameters throughout the cable dry mating operation to successfully complete the project, the company said.
To remind, JFMS installed three Andritz Hydro Hammerfest (AHH) tidal turbines as part of the MeyGen’s Phase 1A.
The fourth and final turbine for this phase of MeyGen, the 1.5MW AR1500, was installed mid-October, 2017, enabling the project to operate at its full 6MW generating capacity.