20/07/2023
RED7MARINE COMPLETES THE UK’S FIRST INSTALLATION OF NEARSHORE ARTIFICAL NESTING STRUCTURES FOR THE OFFSHORE WIND INDUSTRY🌊💨🦤
Red7Marine, has recently completed the installation of three nearshore artificial nesting structures along the East Coast of England on behalf of Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind. The structures are required as a part of the Development Consent Order for the Hornsea 3 Offshore Windfarm as an ecological compensation measure for a vulnerable seabird species– the Black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla).
Red7Marine has been involved with the project since August 2022 managing the fabrication and installation process, working with Ørsted and its designers Royal HaskoningDHV. Two of the artificial nesting structures (ANS) are located approximately 1km from the shoreline of South Beach, Lowestoft, and the third is 1.4 km from the shoreline of the RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve.
To construct each ANS we utilised two jack-up barges, the Typhoon 3000 (a 3000T semi-submersible jack-up barge), which was successfully deployed commercially for the first time in this project by Red7Marine, and our 1,000t Haven SeaChallenger.
Alongside our own in-house fabrication team we also want to thank our specialist supply chain partners:
• Four Tees Engineers Ltd.ineers Ltd who fabricated the topside structures
• Armultra Ltda Limited who were responsible for fabricating the upper pile sleeve and vessel berthing access ladder
• Readman Steel Limited in Middlesbrough who supplied the 1.72m diameter monopiles which act as the foundations for each structure
• MintMech Specialist Engineers who designed the bespoke piling gate used on the project
These structures will play a crucial role in supporting an important and vulnerable species, whilst enabling the generation of clean, green electricity for the Hornsea 3 project. This project is the first of its kind and required meticulous planning and consideration, and we are proud to have achieved this significant milestone.
Red7Marine remains committed to pushing boundaries and finding innovative solutions that harmonise renewable energy generation. It was great to work alongside Orsted on this project and we look forward to continuing work together in the future.
