In 2020, Eneco (Dutch Energy Supplier) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority completed the first shore to ship power installation by means of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD). The project needed to get a power source to vessels as they are moored in the Caland Canal on the outskirts of Rotterdam. VolkerTrenchless Solutions created the 5km cable route, with all the necessary connections, and used the HDD technique to establish ducts which would contain the 25kV cables to the ship mooring bollards.
The shore power connection provides large offshore ships with sustainable energy when they are moored in the channel. Enabling the ships' diesel generators can be switched off as soon as a ship is moored, noise and air pollution subsequently decrease, and significantly less CO2 is released into the atmosphere.
Following the construction of the 5km long cable route to install the 25kV cables, our drilling crew executed two HDD’s to install the power cables to the mooring bollards. Two work areas were established for carrying out the drillings. In addition, a stringing area for welding the HDPE carrier pipes in one contentious length was prepared on land. The ducts were then floated out into the water before the start of the pullback operation which is where the ducts are installed in the predrilled bores.
On completion of the float out phase, the ducts were hoisted on board the CAT7 vessel in before connecting the HDPE strings to the drill rods. Once connected, the reamer is guided into the borehole and the HDPE strings are withdrawn by the drilling rig. Once the HDPE ducts emerge from the drilled bore on the onshore location riser pipes are mounted on the bollard. These pipes on the mooring posts are then coupled to the previously installed ducts by the HDD operation by means of coupling pieces. This work is carried out under the water line assisted by divers.
Due to this being revolutionary and innovative way of getting power to offshore vessels VolkerTrenchless Solutions had to call upon our extensive preparation, technical knowledge and experience, assisted by our preferred supply chain partners along with committed site teams ensured that the project was successfully completed successfully on time an within budget.