NEWS - Nautilus International

22 | telegraph | nautilusint.org | July 2010 July 2010 | nautilusint.org | telegraph | 23
OFFSHORE ENERGY
OFFSHORE ENERGY
“
This requires
specialist ships and
personnel from all
disciplines of marine
offshore work
”
A Global Marine Systems vessel working on an offshore
energy scheme in Finland Picture: Captain David Sanders
Above: a computer-generated impression of one of
two new specialist wind turbine installation vessels
being built for the UK firm MPI Offshore
Picture: MPI
Left: the North Hoyle project was the UK’s first major
offshore windfarm , commencing operations in
December 2003. The 30 turbines generate enough
electricity to power 40,000 homes
C
The answer is blowing in the wind, croaked Bob Dylan. And
— as a future source of jobs for British seafarers — he may
well be right.
For, as a result of the growing pressure to develop ‘green’ energy
generation, the UK has embarked upon a massive expansion programme
— with a target of meeting 15% of total energy needs from
renewable sources by 2020.
And, as a sign of what it could mean for UK maritime employment,
the offshore wind farm support vessel specialists OWPMS last month
announced a £30m agreement with the Brook Henderson Group that
will build a fleet of up to 60 support vessels and create some 200 fulltime
jobs over the coming 24 months.
The UK enjoys the best wind resource in Europe, with average wind
speeds higher than in much of continental Europe. As a result, the
government forecasts that almost one-third of the country’s ‘green’
energy needs can be met by wind generation — and 19% of this from
offshore windfarms.
Facing a European Union legal obligation to hit the 15% target
within a decade, the UK’s offshore windfarm capacity is rapidly
expanding under the official auspices of the Crown Estate, which
owns the seabed around the UK.
Many of the projects developed under Rounds 1 and 2 of the programme
— typically sited close to shore — are already underway.
Round 1 projects, each involving around 30 turbines, are mostly built,
whilst Round 2 projects, which are under construction, are much
larger scale.
The government has now given the go-ahead for Round 3 projects
which will typically be sited further from shore, where even larger
windfarms can be developed. The Crown Estate announced the results
of a bidding process in January, with Round 3 delivery expected from
about 2014 onwards. Additionally, another 6GW of capacity with similar
time-build scales is projected for Scottish territorial waters.
Further down the line is the possibility of a Round 4.
Current UK windfarm capacity is 688MW, but the projects now
under construction, consented or planned will see capacity vault to
some 47GW. The landmark first gigawatt of installed UK offshore
wind capacity was reached at the end of April, when the Robin Rigg
and Gunfleet Sands windfarms began generating electricity — forming
part of a network of 11 windfarms in UK waters that provide sufficient
power for more than 700,000 homes.
The green energy development programme — which also includes
wave and tidal power sources — is offering huge business opportunities,
not least for the offshore support vessel (OSV) sector at a time
when North Sea oil exploration and drilling is on the wane.
Speaking at a recent OSV conference in London, Rhys Thomas of
RenewableUK — the trade association for wind and marine energy,
informed delegates: ‘The shortage of supply of offshore vessels has
meant you’ve got a sellers’ market for this industry. The developers of
the windfarms have been competing with each other and this has
raised costs to get their projects delivered on time.’
But he added: ‘The important thing to realise at the moment is
really that since January we’ve seen a number of vessels being ordered
or being built specifically for the offshore wind industry.’
Survey vessels, turbine installation vessels, construction vessels,
trenchers, cable-layers, pipe-layers, guard ships, operation and maintenance
support vessels: all the types of tonnage needed to help the
UK realise its wind energy aspirations, and all require crews.
Windfarms
generating
new jobs
From the beginning, Nautilus has actively supported the development
of windfarm technology through its involvement with NOREL,
the Nautical Offshore Renewable Energy Liaison forum.
‘It is an industry that has the potential in the UK to generate some
70,000 jobs, many of which are in the marine field,’ says Nautilus senior
national secretary Allan Graveson.
What, though, of the shipping industry anxiety about navigational
safety? ‘A lot of it is very much ungrounded scaremongering
and is a myth that we need to dispel,’ responds Mr Graveson.
‘Some ferry routes may need to change, and there could be small
additional costs. But equally well, the separation of traffic that could
well come about from windfarms can actually improve the safety of
traffic. If you’ve got good radar, properly adjusted with a competent
crew, there’s no problems whatsoever with windfarms,’ he points
out.
One of the first UK companies to stake a major presence in the offshore
energy market — creating a significant and growing number of
jobs for seafarers in the process — is the Yorkshire-based company
MPI Offshore. With a track record that totals more than 200 wind turbine
installations, the company operates the world’s largest and most
powerful wind turbine installation vessel, MPI Resolution. Built in
2003, the 14,547gt vessel was the first of its kind in the world and has a
self-elevating capability, a state-of-the-art dynamic positioning system
and 300-tonne and 50-tonne cranes.
MPI Resolution has installed the turbines for the Thanet offshore
windfarm, some 12km off the Kent coast. When it becomes operational
later this year, it will be the largest operational windfarm in the
world, with 100 turbines generating up to 300MW of electricity.
Nautilus members have been working on the Resolution since it
first came into service in 2004. Being purpose-built for the job, the
vessel has been designed to overcome many of the traditional installation
challenges — such as dependence on large numbers of infield
logistical support vessels and problems. Partly owned by the Dutch
shipping group Vroon since 2006, the vessel’s DP and jacking systems
provide a stable platform in water depths of as much as 35m and
far beyond the limits of traditional weather windows.
The vessel’s success has prompted MPI to invest some US$550m in
two newbuilds — MPI Adventure and MPI Discovery. Due to be delivered
next year, the vessels are based on the Resolution’s design — but
will be slightly bigger and have even greater capabilities. MPI Adventure
has been contracted for two years to work on the record-breaking
1gigawatt London Array project in the outer Thames estuary.
Another UK company with shipping interests that is very much
engaged in windfarm activities is Global Marine Systems. Traditionally
involved in subsea communication cables, the firm has a growing
involvement in the offshore energy sector — earlier this year securing
a contract to install cables for the first 630MW phase of the massive
London Array project in the outer Thames Estuary.
Nautilus industrial officer Jonathan Havard said the Union has
been involved in discussions over the terms and conditions of seafarers
working in the expanding energy division. ‘They have been putting
incentives in place to get people across to the new venture and they’re
making it comparable to the traditional seafaring role,’ he said.
Nautilus member Captain David Sanders, offshore superintendent
with Global Marine’s Energy Sector, tells it from the inside: ‘This
job involves responsibility for the installation of power cables from
the beach to either offshore installations or beach to beach as
country connectors.’
Pictured above are the first turbines for the Greater Gabbard offshore
windfarm arriving in the port of Harwich in May. Due to be completed in 2012,
He has worked at sea for 30 years — mainly on tankers and also in
the North Sea sector — but says joining Global Marine 13 years ago
(when it was Cable & Wireless) was easily the best move he has made.
Windfarm-related work, he explains, involves all aspects of offshore
operations and the specific skill of cable installation and burial.
‘This requires specialist vessels and personnel from all disciplines of
marine offshore work: riggers, ROV operators and surveyors as well as
DPOs and traditional marine crew. Global Marine can provide all
these staff, as well as the shore side of project management, route
planning and surveying.
‘The work is quite demanding,’ he adds, ‘because aside from our
more traditional telecoms work where we work with a limited
number of cable owners, the offshore energy sector involves the cable
manufacturers as well as energy companies and a number of other
interested parties. I feel that I am using all aspects of knowledge and
experience gathered over a number of years.
‘I think it is a particularly good for the EU and the UK government
to support these projects as the capital investment is massive and
would probably mean that smaller marine engineering companies
would baulk at the investment needed to start work in this sector,’
Capt Sanders comments. ‘At a time when politicians are desperately
trying to find ways for UK industry to compete globally with emerging
markets, it is a good way to both preserve and develop offshore
sector marine skills — particularly at sea.
‘Having said that,’ Capt Sanders adds, ‘it is galling that neither the
ships required, the power cable itself, nor the turbines are manufactured
in the UK. Unless the UK government makes some effort to
attract such business to Britain we will lose out in the manufacture of
the hardware to other European countries or the Far East.’
the 500MW 140-turbine project is located some 23km off the Suffolk coast and
is presently the largest windfarm being built in the world.
‘Skills are vital
for sector’s
safe growth’
Since October 2008, the UK has been the
biggest offshore wind producer in the world
— and a government-commissioned report
suggests a massive expansion programme
could create as many as 145,000 jobs,
nationwide, in installation, operation and
maintenance.
Published in May, the Offshore Valuation
report forecast that marine-based wind,
wave and tidal power around the UK could
generate an amount of electricity equivalent
to a billion barrels of oil per year by 2050.
However, operators are warning that
more must be done to safeguard investment
in the necessary skills and equipment
— including new ships — to meet the
ambitious development targets.
With a two-year lead time for building
new vessels, Global Marine Systems has
stressed the need for planning certainty.
Without that, says CEO Gabriel Ruhan, ‘it
makes it very difficult for companies such as
ours to plan the required fleet’.
Peter Madigan, of the trade association
RenewableUK, said that with government
support, the North Sea could once again
become a spur for growth. ‘As an association,
we have long been saying that the North Sea
will become the Saudi Arabia of wind energy,
and today’s tonne of oil and employment
comparisons amply bear this out,’ he added.
‘Just as 30 years ago, the North Sea could
be our ticket for economic growth. We are
looking forward to the new government
putting in place the policy framework to
make this happen.’
Another industry body, Subsea UK, has
warned that skills are crucial for the safety
of the offshore green energy expansion
programme. It is urging the fast-growing
offshore renewable industry to learn lessons
from the oil and gas industry now — or face
the consequences of loss of life, technical
failure, commercial risk and reputational
damage.
In a presentation to delegates at the
All Energy event in Aberdeen in May,
chief executive Alistair Birnie urged the
renewables industry to take stock of the
risks involved in offshore operations and
ensure it has a supply of safe and competent
people.
‘In oil and gas we have seen what can
happen if safety is not a priority and the risks
are not fully understood and managed,’ he
said. ‘We learnt the hard way and lives were
lost. The offshore renewables sector must
appreciate the hostile environment in which
it is working and ensure that it has done
everything it can to ensure the safety of its
people and mitigate the risks.’
With the projected expansion in offshore
construction and maintenance operations,
Mr Birnie warned that there will not be
enough skilled and competent people
around to do the work.
‘A key underlying finding on many
incidents, arguably all, has been the need
to develop competency and experience.
We must therefore be even more diligent
in understanding and managing the risks
in terms of competency, capability and
capacity. A safe and competent workforce
requires training and education, as well as
codes of practice and standards.’
The offshore renewables industry is
just starting out and forging ahead in
developing new technologies. But Mr Birnie
reckons it has not properly thought through
how it will manage safety when it comes to
marine construction and maintenance.
He said the renewables sector should
use the processes that have been developed
by North Sea oil and gas operators. ‘Some
of the designs coming forward from the
renewables sector appear to have ignored
basic safety guidelines, adding significant
risk to offshore operations,’ he warned. ‘If
cost is to be the sole driver in the renewable
sector, be prepared for casualties.’