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Decommissioning of SeaGen Tidal System Succesfully Completed

Decommissioning of SeaGen Tidal System Succesfully Completed

KML has successfully completed the decommissioning of the SeaGen Tidal System in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, on behalf of Atlantis Energy, the global developer, owner and operator of sustainable energy projects.

As the Principal Contractor, KML were appointed to undertake the removal of the 760T marine turbine foundation and the project solution was designed and completed by their in-house team.

Preparation work was undertaken by a team on onboard KML’s multipurpose ship, ‘Severn Sea’, who used its ROV to operate a diamond wire saw to cut out the structure’s four pin piles.

Meanwhile, our team of naval architects and fabricators modified the barge ‘Selina’ so that the three 300T chain pullers could be mounted onto her bow in order to be able to lift the device.

Detailed planning was essential throughout as Strangford Lough is known for one of the strongest tidal races in the UK of up to 8 knots meaning all subsea operations had to be undertaken during brief windows of slack tide. Once the lift was successfully completed, ‘Selina’ delivered the device foundation to Swansea Dry Dock.

SeaGen’s was the world’s first commercial scale tidal turbine and has now become the first to be fully decommissioned. KML has provided a wide range of marine main contractor support and heavy lift services throughout the full lifecycle of the tidal system over a 10 year period. This included the first phase of decommissioning in May 2016 with the removal of the system’s two 600kW Powertrains. In August 2018, the topsides and crossbeam were removed and these final works were completed with the successful removal of the remaining tower and subsea structure.

The CEO of Atlantis, Tim Cornelius, commented that “SeaGen’s successful decommission represents a major milestone for the tidal power industry. I would like to pay tribute to the skill and expertise of the team at Keynvor Morlift for delivering this truly impressive feat of engineering.”

KML’s Managing Director, Diccon Rogers, added “The SeaGen project is a great example of how our versatility can deliver excellent cost effective solutions for our clients. This project was designed by our in-house naval architects and fabricators, made creative use of our fleet and was executed by our talented marine team. I am delighted with the amazing outcome.”