Boskalis has announced the successful completion of a significant phase of work for the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the North Sea. The company’s subsea rock installation vessel, Rockpiper, has finished the installation of 95 rock berms designed to protect the future wind turbine foundations.
The wind farm, being developed by ScottishPower Renewables, required the installation of the berms, which will act as scour protection, as well as one pre-lay rock pad to serve as a foundation for an upcoming offshore converter station.
A Boskalis spokesperson provided details of the operation, explaining that the Rockpiper made 13 trips from quarries in Norway to the wind farm site and back, installing approximately 287,500 tonnes of rock over the course of a 114-day campaign. “Unique about this project is that the design of each rock berm varies slightly. In other words, routine work was not an option for East Anglia Three,” the spokesperson said.
Despite the challenges, the spokesperson expressed confidence in the crew’s ability to handle the project’s complexity. “But is that an issue for the experienced crew of the Rockpiper and the project team? Absolutely not!” the spokesperson added. “The results speak for themselves: 95 different rock berms on the bottom of the North Sea, providing a solid foundation for the future offshore wind farm.”
Boskalis thanked the Rockpiper crew and its project team for their dedication throughout the campaign. This milestone marks a key step in the development of the East Anglia Three wind farm, which is expected to contribute significantly to the UK’s renewable energy generation capacity.
