MPI’s wind-turbine installation vessel’s leg extensions increase work capabilities
MPI’s wind-turbine installation vessel (WTIV), MPI Resolution, is currently undergoing installation of leg extensions at the company’s Tees Offshore Base in Middlesbrough, UK. Following these modifications, MPI Resolution will be able to operate in water depths of up to 35m, depending upon the site-specific data. This represents a gain of up to 7m on the previous jacking capabilities of the vessel and substantially increases the operability as a result, Vroon said in its press release.
Modification works started in mid-September and the ten-week work schedule is being undertaken by local fabrication and engineering firm Wilton Engineering Services Ltd, with the vessel jacked alongside to deck height of 25m above the quay.
MPI Resolution is the world’s first purpose-built WTIV. Designed to transport, lift, install and decommission components, the vessel’s dynamic-positioning system, jacking system, 3,200m2 deck space, accommodation facilities and 600Te lifting capacity make it an efficient, effective and well-proven vessel.
Built in 2003, the vessel combines tested technologies applied in innovative ways to provide a single-vessel solution for the offshore construction industry. In late 2015, MPI Resolution underwent an upgrade to full DP II classification, enhancing her operational capabilities. The possibility to install leg extensions was foreseen during construction, with vessel design accommodating this option. These latest modifications will increase MPI Resolution’s capacity even further and demonstrate how MPI Offshore is continuously evolving to cater for the demanding and changing offshore-wind market requirements.
