Sapura Orders Osbit Pile Gripper for Yunlin

Osbit has secured a contract with Sapura Energy to deliver a pile gripper system that will be used for the Yunlin offshore wind project in Taiwan.

Osbit will design and build the system which will be installed on Sapura Energy’s heavy lift vessel and will support the installation of the 80 monopile foundations at the Yunlin project.

According to Osbit, the system, designed to facilitate monopile installation from a moored floating vessel, will maintain the position and verticality of the foundations and will be deployed and stowed using a deck rail skidding system.

The company stated that the pile gripper technology includes a control cabin design and an integrated Near Pile Noise Mitigation System, which lessens subsea noise associated with piling activities.

The project is currently underway at Osbit’s Northumberland headquarters and is expected to be delivered to meet a 30-week lead-time.

“We are delighted to add Sapura Energy to our client-base and to expand Osbit’s footprint in the emergent East Asian offshore wind market. We are now applying our offshore handling expertise and closely collaborating with Sapura Energy to deliver a high-quality solution On Spec, to Budget and In Time,” said Osbit Managing Director Brendon Hayward.

This June, Sapura Energy secured a contract for the transport and installation of turbine foundations at the Yunlin project, which represents its first-ever in the offshore wind sector.

The 640MW Yunlin offshore wind farm will feature 80 Siemens Gamesa 8MW turbines installed some 8km offshore and scheduled to come online in 2021.