Fugro Seacore successfully completed installation of a world’s first Commercial tidal turbine device at Strangford Lough.
When Marine Current Turbines were looking for a contractor to drill the foundation sockets for the installation of their 2nd generation turbine 'Seagen' in Strangford Lough, the obvious choice was to approach Fugro Seacore who had successfully drilled the foundation for the first turbine off the north coast of Devon in 2003.
In the original design it was intended that the turbine should be installed on a single large monopile foundation, but due to vessel difficulties it was decided to use a quadrapod design base and pin it with four 1016mm diameter piles, grouted into 1150mm sockets. To drill the sockets the structure was positioned and levelled on location and a work platform bolted to the top. Conductor tubes were then set through gates in the platform into guides in the quadrapod base.
FSCL positioned its B5 drill on top of these and drilled a 7.4m socket into hard mudstone. Site conditions were harsh; the seabed being extremely uneven with a covering of cobbles and boulders. Currents reached around 4 m/s on Spring tides which made operations such as installing conductors and crew transfers hazardous, however despite these conditions drilling was successful and finished ahead of schedule.