Germany: Nordic Yards Brings HelWin Alpha Offshore Platform to Dock at Wismar Yard

Nordic Yards, manufacturer of technologically sophisticated and innovative special ships and maritime structures, brings the HelWin alpha offshore platform to dock at its Wismar yard. The self-erecting transformer platform is being built for Siemens Energy in separate sections at Wismar and Warnemünde. The HelWin alpha is almost identical in design to the BorWin beta offshore transformer platform, which was brought to dock in September in Warnemünde. HelWin alpha is due to start test operations in early 2013.

Up to 450 employees will have worked on the platform at the two Nordic Yards facilities over the course of its production. The Wismar yard is building the topside – the part of the platform that stands above the water. The supporting structure, known as the base frame, is being constructed at the same time at Warnemünde, where commissioning will also take place. After completion, the topside will be towed by tugs from Wismar over the Baltic Sea to Warnemünde.

“Today Nordic Yards has taken an important step in the construction of the second platform for Siemens Energy. The employees in the yards at Wismar and Warnemünde have impressed on both projects with their outstanding work and quality,” says Andreas Barth, Project Manager for Siemens Energy.

“With the construction of this self-erecting transformer platform, we are marking a further milestone in our strategic offshore activities,” says Vitaly Yusufov, owner and Managing Director of Nordic Yards.

In May 2011, Nordic Yards began construction – on behalf of Siemens Energy – of a self-erecting offshore transformer platform, part of the HelWin1 cluster wind farm connection project for Dutch transmission grid operator TenneT. The platform can be installed without the use of heavy-lift vessels. As part of the HelWin1 cluster wind farm connection for future offshore wind farms in the eastern North Sea, the HelWin alpha transformer platform transmits the energy generated there – up to 576 megawatts – to the mainland. With the HelWin1 project, TenneT is creating the first offshore grid connection in Schleswig-Holstein and is also the client for the HelWin alpha transformer platform. Siemens Sektor Energy and cable manufacturer Prysmian are responsible for the entire project as contractors to TenneT.