The construction vessel Stanislav Yudin has arrived on site at the Gwynt y Môr windfarm this morning (6th August 2012). She is shortly due to start work on the installation of the foundations for the 160 wind turbines at Gwynt y Môr.
A Notice to Mariners describing the scope of this work and the vessels that will be involved was issued in June and is available here. We have summarised the key details below.
Construction vessels
Stanislav Yudin will carry out the installation of the monopile foundations and transition pieces for the wind turbines on the site. The monopiles and transition pieces will be transported to the site from Birkenhead on the barges Viking Barge 3 and Viking Barge 5. The barges will be towed by the Union Boxer and Union Fighter. Another vessel, Toisa Warrior, will carry out grouting work for the transition pieces on the site.
Stanislav Yudin will be anchored during this work. The vessel will have an 8 point anchor spread which could extend up to 1200m from the vessel. The anchor handling vessels Anglian Monarch and Smit Angola will support Stanislav Yudin.
Vessel details are given below, including links to the MarineTraffic website which provides real-time information about the current location and recent movements of these vessels.
- Stanislav Yudin: Crane vessel | Call sign 5BYM2
- Anglian Monarch: support vessel for Stanislav Yudin | Call sign MYFR6
- Smit Angola: support vessel for Stanislav Yudin | Call sign – C6YI5.
- Union Boxer: Tug for Delivery Barge | Call sign – ORPS.
- Union Fighter: Tug for Delivery Barge | Call sign – ORPP
- Toisa Warrior: multi purpose offshore vessel | Call sign – C6XY7.
VHF Channel 16 will be monitored at all times by these vessels.
All vessels operating in the area are requested to give a berth of at least 1500m to the Stanislav Yudin, and a berth of at least 500m to all other vessels working on the windfarm.
Construction work
Most of the foundation monopiles will be hammered into this seabed. Each monopile will take approximately one day to install, and will involve 2-4 hours of pile driving (hammering). In areas where the rock is too hard for pile driving some of the monopiles will be drilled into the seabed.
Once construction work starts it is expected to continue for about two years. Construction work will be carried out day and night. Piling work will not happen every day.
The windfarm is due to be completed and fully operational by the end of 2014. It will generate up to 576MW of electricity, providing power for 400,000 homes.
Contact information
A dedicated information line has been established for the project. If you have concerns about construction noise or other aspects of the project you can call the Gwynt y Môr Project Information Line on 0845 026 0587.
If you have any queries about how this project will affect fishing activity in the area please contact Jim Andrews, Fishery Liaison Officer by e-mail or phone (+44(0)7908-225865).