Safeway, the Dutch specialist in the design and manufacture of offshore transfer equipment, has signed a contract with Van Oord to supply the latest version of its Safeway Seagull type motion-compensated gangway system for installation on the subsea construction vessel Topaz Tangaroa.
This contract marks Safeway’s second contract in Taiwanese waters, and it is the first time in Safeway’s young history that it has rented out a gangway to Van Oord, for an offshore wind project. The Safeway Seagull gangway system, with 3D crane function, will be installed on the Topaz Tangaroa in Rotterdam and will be deployed to transfer personnel and cargo (up to 1000 kg) during Van Oord’s first cable project in Asia, later this year.
In September 2019 Van Oord has secured a contract from Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted for the cable installation work on the Greater Changhua 1 & 2a offshore wind farms, in Taiwan. The Dutch marine contractor is responsible for the transportation, installation and burial of the export and inter array cables. Van Oord will be deploying its dedicated cable-laying vessel Nexus. The Topaz Tangaroa has been contracted to support the Nexus, and the presence of the Safeway Seagull, with its unique features including roll compensation, height adjustment, zero impact bumpering/hover mode and counterweight, will ensure unrivalled workability, throughout the year.
It is planned that the array cable installation work will start in August 2021 (season1) and again in March 2022 (season 2). The rental contract for the 28 metre-long walk-to-work Safeway Seagull gangway will be utilised over the two campaigns.
In December last year Ocean Energy Resources already announced that Safeway has been awarded a contract by Heerema to supply a Safeway Seagull type motion compensated gangway system for installation on the CSV Normand Baltic. This vessel will be utilized in the development phase of the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 and 2a offshore wind farms in the Taiwan Straits.
“We’re hugely excited to have two Safeway Seagull gangways operating off the coast of Taiwan, in 2021,” explained Wijnand van Aalst, CEO at Safeway. “And we are extremely grateful having the opportunity to demonstrate our expertise outside Europe, while offering maximum operational efficiency. The use of motion-compensated gangway systems is gradually becoming the norm in Asia, and both contracts represent a great and safe way to start 2021, in this promising and challenging market.”
