Hua Hai Long, the semisubmersible heavy lift vessel departed the Sembcorp Marine Admiralty Yard loaded with the Hornsea Two offshore windfarm substations. Sembcorp Marine has completed the fabrication of the Offshore Substation (OSS) and Reactive Compensation Station (RCS) for Ørsted Wind Power unit Optimus Wind Limited.

Constructed at Sembcorp Marine’s integrated facilities, the OSS is the largest AC offshore substation and together with the RCS, they have a combined weight of 10,200 tonnes. In addition to fabrication, Sembcorp Marine spearheaded the engineering, procurement, hook-up and commissioning works for the Substations.

The loadout of the units was completed earlier this month with United Heavy Transport, a specialized heavy marine transport and installation contractor, overseeing the operation. Loaded onboard Guangzhou Salvage’s 30,000 DWT semi submersible vessel Hua Hai Long, the topsides are first heading to Europe. AIS data shows that the vessel is currently sailing in the Malacca Strait, off Malaysia.

The substations will reach their destination at end-September 2021 for integration with their jackets. Installation of the OSS and RCS jacket foundations was completed in October 2020 by Sleipnir, the world’s strongest semi-submersible crane vessel built by Sembcorp Marine.

Located in the North Sea some 89 km off the Yorkshire Coast, Hornsea Two spans an offshore area of 462 square kilometres and will be the world’s largest wind farm when it goes into operation in 2022. With capacity of 1.4 GW, the farm will provide power to more than 1.3 million homes in the United Kingdom.