DISCONNECTABLE Mooring and anchoring systems
THE ‘DISCO BUOY™ ’!
For floating wind, the necessity and specification for disconnectable mooring systems is different to that of the offshore oil and gas industry. For floating wind sites, there will ultimately be multiple units, and the cost of the mooring system and installation thereof is a much higher percentage of the overall platform cost.
As the floating wind industry develops, it is becoming increasingly evident that there is a requirement to be able to readily disconnect the platform from the mooring and dynamic power cable system in a controlled manner, due to the potential maintenance requirements of large components, and the costs and risks involved in performing these operations at sea.
PATENT GRANTED
LMC has developed, support by granted funding from BEIS, a Disconnectable Buoy Mooring, affectionately known as the “DISCO BUOYTM”.
The DISCO BUOYTM shall provide the following PROJECT VALUE ADD:
• Simple, Quick and Controlled method of Connection and Disconnection of the
mooring and dynamic power cable system
• Decoupling of pre-installation of mooring and power cable with the hook-up to
the platform
• Reduce the risk of damage to mooring and power cable during installation
• Reduce the risk of damage to mooring and power cable during disconnected
state
• Minimises offshore operations duration and vessel specifications
• Reduction in schedule risk and offshore installation CAPEX due to reduction in
weather downtime
• Buoy system shall maintain control of and protect the power cable and mooring
system prior to hook-up of the platform and during disconnected status by:
Maintaining position within the water column and below the wave zone, ready
for connection / reconnection (rather than laying on the seabed or in the wave
excitation zone where a greater risk of damage exists)
• Eliminate the requirement to remove buoyancy modules from the power cable
(and mooring system) during disconnected stage (to remove the hog bend and
wet store)
• Hookup / pull in can be on-platform or from supporting vessel
• Reduced mooring pull in tensions due to buoyancy module
• Suitable for single point body-yawing mooring solutions and multi-point spread
mooring solutions
• Suitable for semi-submersible and barge shaped floating wind platforms
• Modular design of buoyancy and latch systems, to allow for variations in:
Number, size and type of mooring lines and dynamic power cables
• Site parameters, water depth and environment
• Limit requirement of personnel transfer due to stab plate design integral to
dynamic power cable buoy
• Reduced OPEX and supports Tow-to-Port maintenance strategy
