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Hollandse Kust Noord to add floating solar panels in 2025

A floating solar demonstration project to be installed within the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm site will be constructed in 2025, according to TNO, the Dutch organization for applied scientific research. TNO will work on research and demonstration of offshore solar energy in the new offshore wind farm together with CrossWind, a Shell-Eneco consortium that won the tender to build the Hollandse Kust Noord project on 29 July. According to TNO, the offshore solar demo project will have a minimum of 0.5 MWp (megawatt-peak) of installed capacity and will be built in 2025, some two years after the offshore wind farm becomes operational. “The CrossWind project represents a major step towards the future of solar energy generation on the North Sea”, TNO said. The 759 MW Hollandse Kust Noord, located some 18.5 kilometres off the west coast of the Netherlands, will comprise 69 Siemens Gamesa 11 MW turbines. Along with floating solar panels, Hollandse Kust Noord will comprise four more technology solutions to ensure continuous power supply. These solutions, to be employed at the offshore site as demonstration projects, could be implemented at full-scale in the future, CrossWind said(Credits:www.offshore-energy.biz)

McMenon appoints regional general manager for Middle East and Asia-Pacific

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McMenon Engineering Services has appointed Bipin Nair, who has over 20 years industry experience, as regional general manager for the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. He was previously with Wika Group in the Middle East for ten years, rising to the position of regional marketing manager. Bipin has been tasked with communicating McMenon product quality, service and commitment to excellence as well as developing the company operations in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. Anand Puthran, CEO at McMenon, said:We have strengthened our senior management team as part of our brand building and growth strategy. The Middle East and Asia-Pacific are key markets for McMenon with huge potential for growth. It is therefore important we have the right calibre of people on board to meet our aspirations and deliver a service to clients that exceeds expectations. We are excited to welcome Bipin to the McMenon team.(Credits:www.offshore-energy.biz)

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has today banned the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Agia Sofia from Australian ports for six months. The 82,000 dwt Agia Sofia, previously known as Trade Spirit, is owned and operated by Greek company Marmaras Navigation, according to data provided by VesselsValue. As informed, AMSA inspected the ship at Hay Point in Mackay on 25 July 2020 after receiving a complaint via the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF). During the inspection, AMSA found evidence that some seafarers on board the ship had not been paid their wages in full since August 2019. The outstanding wages total about AUD $45,000 and constitute a breach of the rights of seafarers as per their employment agreements under the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). The maritime authority has taken steps to ensure that the seafarers onboard have been paid in full before the ship leaves Australia. AMSA Acting General Manager Operations Michael Drake noted it was the first time that Marmaras Navigation Ltd had been caught underpaying crew in Australian waters. (Credits:www.offshore-energy.biz)

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Ørsted to use BareFLEET system to track CTV ops

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Oslash will use Reygar Bare FLEET remote monitoring and reporting platform to track and analyse the performance of its chartered fleet of offshore wind crew transfer vessels (CTVs) in Europe. The system will log vessel motion, fuel consumption, and PAX movements, providing an accurate record of events, including transit, push on, transfer, and crane lifts, according to Reygar. This will allow for all operational activity to be assessed for improvement or enhancement. The system will gather data from the existing sensors onboard the CTVs and supplement it by data from motion sensor measurements, observations added manually by the Captain and video of transfers. By monitoring and acting on data-based insights into motion, fuel consumption, and skipper logged activity, Oslars will be able to maximisetime on turbine whether this is part of the course of operations and maintenance or during construction phases, said Chris Huxley-Reynard, Managing Director at Reygar(Credits:www.offshore-energy.biz)

TAQA files decommissioning plans for two North Sea platform topsides

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TAQA Bratani has filed its decommissioning programs for the Tern and North Cormorant platform topsides, located in the UK North Sea, to the UK authorities. Under these plans, topsides of both these platforms will be removed onshore for reuse, recycling or disposal. The North Cormorant platform is located in Block 211 in the UK Northern North Sea. The field was discovered in May 1974 by Shell Or Esso with the platform installed in 1981 and production starting in February 1982. A Cessation of Production application for North Cormorant is currently under preparation and will be submitted to the OilGas Authority (OGA) in 3Q 2020. The CoP date is currently anticipated to be 4Q 2023. The execution window for the North Cormorant topside decommissioning is at the earliest possible date in 2024 through to project completion in 2028. The North Cormorant is a fixed installation serving as manned drilling and production facility for the Cormorant North field, which lies within the East Shetland Basin of the UKCS in licence block 211. The large steel jacket or sub-structure of the North Cormorant platform will be subject to a separate decommissioning programme. The North Cormorant platform facilitates production from the North Cormorant and Cormorant East Fields. Oil and gas imported from Otter is separated out and processed via the North Cormorant process facilities. The oil is then routed to Cormorant Alpha for onward transmission through the Brent Oil Pipeline System to Sullom Voe. (Credits:www.offshore-energy.biz)