Itrec B.v.

Diederick Bernardus Wijning

Joop Roodenburg

Pieter Dirk Melis Van Duivendijk

Terence Willem August Vehmeijer

Anne Klaas De Groot

Robert Frodo Van Kuilenburg

Hendrik Hessels

David Roodenburg

Nicolaas Thijs Pieter Max

Jasper Hendrik Frank Bakker

Adriaan Van Swieten

Ronny Lambertus Waltherus Nouwens

Hendrikus Jacobus Weterings

Arnoud Laurens Feijen

Theodorus Cornelis Joanes Maria Stijnman

Arthur Alexander De Mul

Alexei Bereznitski

Xander Knobben

Peter Madlener

Arie De Zwari

Olaf Van Der Meij

Pieter Dirk Van Duivendijk

Jasper Hendrik Bakker

Nicolaas Thijs Max

In the installation of a rotor blade in horizontal orientation to the hub of a horizontal axis offshore wind turbine, use is made of a blade motion synchronization and positioning device, which comprises a wind turbine coupler, a blade coupler, a motion arm between the wind turbine coupler and the blade coupler, and a controllable motion arm actuator assembly. The method includes bringing and maintaining the blade coupler in a motion compensated receiving position, wherein the arm is operated to compensate for sea state and/or wind induced tower top motion. In receiving position, the coupler is coupled to the blade that is suspended from a crane. The actuator assembly is then operated to gradually bring, and then maintain, the coupled blade in a horizontal motion that is synchronized with tower top motion, and to displace the coupled blade root into a pre-mounting position. Then a mounting motion is performed wherein the blade root is moved into a mounting position and the blade root is fastened to mounting structure by fasteners.

Installation of a rotor blade in horizontal orientation to the hub of a horizontal axis offshore wind turbine that is located offshore

A marine knuckle boom crane includes a pedestal and a crane housing rotational relative to the pedestal. A knuckle boom assembly is attached to the crane housing and includes a main boom and a spreader type jib. A hoisting system includes a first departure sheave and a second departure sheave on the jib, and a third departure sheave mounted to the main boom or to the crane housing. One or more winches drive a first, second, and third cable which are each connected to an object suspension device and each pass via the first, second, and third departure sheave, respectively, to the respective winch. The first, the second, and the third cable together define an inverted pyramid which diverges upwards from the object suspension device when handling the object.

Marine knuckle boom crane

In an installation of a wind turbine on a floating foundation in floating condition and subject to sea-state induced motions, e.g. at the site of an offshore windfarm, use is made of a vessel with a crane arranged on the hull and provided with a hoisting system adapted to support the weight of the wind turbine and suspend the wind turbine from the crane. A heave compensation device compensates for sea-state induced heave motion of the wind turbine mast relative to the mast mounting structure of the floating foundation. Use is made of a mast alignment system configured to engage on the suspended wind turbine, e.g. on the mast of the suspended wind turbine, and to bring and maintain the mast of the wind turbine in alignment with the mounting axis of the floating foundation in order to compensate for sea-state induced motions, at least including tilt motions in one or more vertical planes, of the wind turbine mast relative to the mounting axis of the floating foundation.

Installation of a wind turbine on a floating foundation

In a method for installing a blade on a horizontal axis rotational hub of an offshore wind turbine, use is made of a blade installation device that is temporarily installed on the offshore wind turbine. The device includes a mounting part that is mounted on the foundation of the offshore wind turbine and/or on a lower portion of the wind turbine mast. A guide mast having a track is supported by the mounting part and extends parallel and adjacent to the wind turbine mast. A support bracket laterally supports the guide mast. The blade installation device further includes a blade manipulator assembly with a trolley that is movable along the track and a blade manipulator including blade engagement members. The blade manipulator is supported by the trolley via an actuating assembly including actuators. A positioning system controls the actuators.

Method and blade installation device for installing a blade of an offshore wind turbine

A semi-submersible crane vessel for use in assembling a wind turbine and for installation by means of a crane of the vessel of the assembled wind turbine on a foundation. At an assembly station, the hull of the vessel is provided with a mast-receiving well that is sunk into, or through, the hull, preferably a well that extends into, or through a support column of the hull, which well is configured to receive therein at least a portion of the mast of the wind turbine during an assembly step of the wind turbine. For example, the mast-receiving well has a depth of at least 15 meters, e.g. at least 30 meters, measured from the deck of the deckbox structure.

Assembling and installing a wind turbine

A crane vessel for hoisting of an offshore wind turbine or a component thereof, includes a hull having a deck. A crane configured for hoisting of an offshore wind turbine or a component thereof includes a vertical crane structure having a crane structure base fixed to the hull, the crane structure extending from the hull over a height thereof to a top along a vertical axis of the crane structure, a boom, and a slew bearing allowing to revolve the boom, about a slew axis. A main hoisting system includes at least one main hoisting winch, an associated main hoisting cable and a load connector, the main hoisting cable extending from the main hoisting winch to a main hoist cable guide on the boom and then to the load connector. The crane further includes a dynamic behaviour adjustment system that is configured to adjust the dynamic behaviour of the vessel by moving and/or arranging an adjustment mass that is distinct from the offshore wind turbine or component thereof into or in at least one dynamic behaviour adjustment position along the height of the vertical crane structure.

Crane vessel for hoisting of an offshore wind turbine or component thereof

An offshore vessel for performing offshore subsea wellbore related activities, for example for drilling a subsea wellbore includes a drilling tower. A method for drilling a subsea wellbore includes using an offshore vessel and a method for tripping a tubulars string is disclosed. The offshore vessel is provided with a hoisting system which has a first configuration, wherein a hoisting cable is connected to a working deck and a second configuration wherein said hoisting cable is connected to a traveling block. The system allows for efficient tripping in and tripping out.

Offshore vessel and method of operation of such an offshore vessel

A top drive system for wellbore related activities involving a drilling tubulars string. The system includes a frame structure and a top drive device with one or more top drive motors, a transmission housing, a floating quill system with a hollow vertical floating quill shaft. The top drive device has a thrust bearing housing arranged below the transmission housing and suspended via said first and second vertical frame members from the top frame member. A hollow vertical outer main shaft is suspended from the thrust bearing housing and a hollow vertical inner main shaft is arranged vertically mobile within the outer main shaft. The inner main shaft is connected to the floating quill shaft and has a lower connector end that is configured to be connected to a drilling tubulars string via a threaded connection, so as to allow for transmission of the rotary torque from the one or more top drive motors via the transmission, the floating quill shaft, the inner main shaft, to the threadedly connected drilling tubular string.

Wellbore drilling top drive system and operational methods

The first aspect of the present invention relates to an offshore drilling system and a method for performing subsea wellbore related activities involving a riser extending between the vessel and a subsea wellbore. The offshore drilling system comprising a drilling vessel with a floating hull, a drilling tower and a tubular string main hoisting device. A vertically mobile working deck with a rig floor slip device is positioned above the moonpool. A telescopic joint and a diverter are provided, wherein the inner barrel of the telescopic joint is secured to the diverter via a flexible joint. Furthermore an integrated heave compensation system is provided such that said travelling block and the mobile working deck move synchronously in heave compensation.

Offshore drilling system, vessel and method

A semi-submersible drilling vessel has a deckbox structure, one or more pontoons, and multiple support columns extending upward from the one or more pontoons and supporting thereon the deckbox structure. An annular riser joints storage caisson extends downwardly from the deckbox structure, wherein the storage caisson delimits an annular storage space configured for storage therein of an annular array of riser joints in vertical orientation thereof. A riser joints carousel device is provided in the annular storage space, which riser joints carousel device is configured to carry an annular array of riser joints in vertical orientation thereof in a mobile manner relative to the annular storage caisson so that the array of riser joints is movable along an annular path through the storage spaced between the inner and outer wall of the storage caisson. The deckbox structure is provided with a riser joint transfer passage at a riser joint transfer location above the annular path of the riser joints carried by the riser joints carousel device through the storage space. The vessel is provided with a riser joint vertical transfer device configured to lift and lower a riser joint out of and into the riser joints carousel device, passing therein vertically through the riser joint transfer passage of the deckbox structure.

Semi-submersible drilling vessel, e.g. for use in a harsh environment

A semi-submersible drilling vessel has a deckbox structure and a shaker room. A downward sloping mud return line is provided that passes mud from the diverter to the shaker room. In the shaker room there are one or more shale shaker devices, one or more upstream mud tanks arranged to receive gas cut mud from the one or more shale shaker devices, and a vacuum degasser having an inlet pipe extending into an upstream mud tank, a vacuum tank, a vacuum pump, and an outlet, and a degassed mud tank receiving degassed mud from the outlet of the vacuum degasser. The degassed mud tank has an effective height between the bottom thereof to the operational mud level in said degassed mud tank that is greater than the corresponding effective height of said one or more upstream mud tanks. The degassed mud tank is mounted so that&#x2014;in operation&#x2014;the operational mud level in said degassed mud tank is at least 1.5 meter, preferably at least 2 meters, higher than in said one or more upstream tanks with the vacuum degassers self-suction effect causing the mud to be pumped from the upstream tank, via the vacuum degasser, into the degassed mud tank.

Semi-submersible drilling vessel with a mud treatment and circulation system

A vessel and method to perform subsea wellbore related operations, e.g. slim hole technique drilling of a subsea wellbore are disclosed. The vessel has a hull with at least one moonpool defining first and second moonpool areas. A vertical tower is mounted on a tower supporting hull structure and has a vertical operative face. A hoisting device has a winch and winch driven cable, and is adapted to suspend a load from said vertical tower via said at least one winch driven cable and to manipulate the suspended load in a firing line of the tower that extends along and outside of said vertical operative face of the tower. The tower is slewable about a vertical slew axis by means of a slewing drive at least into first and second operative positions wherein the firing line extends through the first and second moonpool areas respectively.

Vessel and method to perform subsea wellbore related operations

An offshore subsea wellbore activities system and method wherein use is made of a tower and a motion arm assembly with vertical drive adapted to move the motion arm along a vertical motion arm rail relative to the tower. Also use is made of a wellbore activities device comprising a riser tension frame having an upper frame section, a lower frame section provided with a riser attachment device adapted to attach a riser to said lower frame section so as to extend in a firing line, and a vertical riser load bearing structure, e.g. formed by struts. The wellbore activities device further comprises a coiled tubing injector, a wireline lubricator, and one or more pressure control devices associated with the coiled tubing injector and/or the wireline lubricator received by and individually movable within the riser tension frame. The wellbore activities device provides a lateral firing line access passage allowing to transfer an elongated wellbore tool or a wellbore tubular in vertical orientation thereof by means of the motion arm assembly in a substantially lateral motion between and a remote position outside of the riser tension frame and an operative position within the riser tension frame and aligned with the firing line.

Offshore subsea wellbore activities system and method

A method for handling and/or testing an in-riser landing string assembly onboard a floating vessel, which method comprises the use of an in-riser landing string assembly cart, e.g. a skiddable in-riser landing string assembly cart, having a cart base, e.g. a cart base configured to be skidded over skid rails on a deck of the vessel, and having a support tower erected on said cart base. The in-riser landing string assembly is arranged and retained in vertical orientation on said cart with the support tower providing lateral support for the in-riser landing string assembly, e.g. the in-riser landing string assembly being temporarily secured to the tower at different elevations along the height of the support tower.

Handling, testing, storing an in-riser landing string assembly onboard a floating vessel

A system and method for casing drilling with a subsea casing drive adapted to engage at the outer circumference of the casing string, to impart a linear force and/or torque to the casing string, and such a subsea casing drive per se are disclosed. During drilling, the subsea casing drive is provided in a subsea unit further comprising a blowout preventer, a pressure control device and a mud pump with an outlet to a mud hose connectable to a surface vessel. The wellbore is drilled by driving the bottom hold assembly, BHA, and the casing string into the wellbore by the subsea casing drive, while discharging mud and cuttings via the mud hose and supplying mud to the BHA from the mud circulation system on the vessel via the landing string and casing string.

Growing community of inventors

Schiedam, Netherlands

Diederick Bernardus Wijning