General – Umack Anchor
CorPower Ocean, Maersk Supply Service and Dieseko have successfully installed the first commercial-scale UMACK anchor to support the HiWave-5 demonstration project.
The novel anchor has been installed 4km off the coast of Aguçadoura, in northern Portugal, where it will be used to anchor the CorPower C4 Wave Energy Converter, as part of the flagship HiWave-5 project.
Developed by a European consortium of experts led by CorPower Ocean, the UMACK technology provides a step-change improvement to the vertical holding capacity of pile-type anchors. It offers significant reductions to cost and carbon footprints compared to both monopiles and gravity foundations and can support offshore installations such as marine energy devices, floating wind and aquaculture.
CorPower Ocean Senior Engineer Ian Denton said the UMACK anchor design and installation plan was tailored for the C4 Wave Energy Converter and specific requirements of the Aguçadoura site.
“The UMACK anchor has now been installed in northern Portugal,” he said. “We installed the pile using a 500MU vibro-hammer supplied by Dieseko, supported by a heave-compensated crane on the Maersk Achiever vessel. The installation method works by vibrating the anchor into the sea bed, offering a high speed, low-noise solution which minimises impact on the marine environment. The success of the project hinged on careful planning and close collaboration with our partners, in addition to nearly four years developing and scale-testing the innovative UMACK anchor technology. The outcome demonstrates the readiness of deploying this anchor at industrial scale.”
