TIV ''MPI Resolution'' (formerly TIV ''Mayflower Resolution'') is a wind turbine installation vessel deployed to install

turbines A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful Work (physics), work. The work produced by a turbine can be used ...

offshore wind farm Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...

s. It was the first self-elevating Turbine Installation Vessel in the world. She can raise herself on her six legs between and above the sea.

Description

''MPI Resolution'' is a 14,857 GT vessel which has six legs that she can use to raise itself out of the sea when installing offshore wind turbines. ''Resolution'' is designed for use in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

, although she can be deployed elsewhere if required. She has the capacity for ten wind turbines at a time. The whole ship can be jacked up out of the sea on her six legs, to provide a stable platform when installing wind turbines. The jacking system uses hydraulics. She can raise herself between and above the sea. ''MPI Resolution'' is powered by four

ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

AMA4xxLxL diesel generators of each powering four Aquamaster US 205/3850

azimuth thruster An azimuth thruster is a configuration of marine propellers placed in pods that can be rotated to any horizontal angle (azimuth), making a rudder unnecessary. These give ships better maneuverability than a fixed propeller and rudder system. Ty ...

s of each. Additionally, there are three ABB AMA400L6L diesel generators powering three

Kamewa AB Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad (''trans.'' Karlstad Mechanical Works Ltd), known as Kamewa, was a Swedish manufacturing company in the city of Kristinehamn. Kamewa started as a brand name of the controllable-pitch propellers manufactured by KM ...

TT1650 CP

bow thruster Manoeuvering thruster (bow thruster or stern thruster) is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, either the bow or stern, of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow th ...

s of . On arrival at the site of the wind turbine, ''MPI Resolution'' lowers her six legs to stand on the seabed, and then jacks herself up above the surface of the sea. This provides a stable platform to hammer down a mono-pile into the sea bed and install the wind turbine. When the turbine has been installed, ''Resolution'' lowers herself and sails to the next position to repeat the process.

History

''Mayflower Resolution'' was ordered in 2002 by Mayflower Energy Ltd. She was built by Shanhaiguan shipyard,

Qinhuangdao Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...

, China as yard number TIV 1. She was designed by Dane Knud E Hansen and construction was supervised by Graig Shipping. ''Mayflower Resolution'' was built for Mayflower Energy Ltd, part of Mayflower Corporation. Delivery was scheduled for February 2003, but was delayed and the £20,000,000 budget was exceeded by some £10,000,000. The addition of a remotely operated vehicle to lay submarine cables pushed to final bill for her construction to £53,000,000. ''Mayflower Resolution'' was completed in November 2003, and delivered in February 2004. The journey from Qinhuangdao to Falmouth,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

took 66 days. She underwent trials in Falmouth Bay, where she was tested for the first time. ''Mayflower Resolution'' was then put to work installing wind turbines at the

North Hoyle North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm is Wales' first offshore wind farm, and the UK's first major offshore renewable power project. Situated in Liverpool Bay, it commenced operation in 2003. The first of the UK's Round 1 offshore wind farms, North Ho ...

windfarm for National Wind Power. The contract ended on 23 March and ''Mayflower Resolution'' sailed to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, arriving on 30 March. She was due to depart for Great Yarmouth on 8 April to work on installing turbines for the Scroby Sands wind farm. On 31 March, Mayflower Corporation went into administration with debts of £17,700,000.

Deloitte Touche Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...

were appointed as administrators. ''Mayflower Resolution'' was sold by the administrators for £12,000,000 to a group of Mayflower Corporation's managers who managed to get backing from Japanese bank Mizuho International The new owners became MPI Offshore, based in

Stokesley Stokesley is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, formerly a part of the historic North Riding of Yorkshire. It lies on the River Leven. An electoral ward, of the same name, stretches north to ...

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. In 2006, ''MPI Resolution'' was used in the construction of the Barrow Offshore Wind project for Centrica and DONG Energy. In 2008, ''Resolution'' was used in the construction of the

Lynn and Inner Dowsing Wind Farm The Lynn and Inner Dowsing wind farms are a pair of round 1 wind farms located in the North Sea, in the shallow waters at the entrance to The Wash off the coast of Lincolnshire, England. The wind farms were developed as a single unit after plannin ...

for Centrica. It was announced in July 2008 that two more ships were to be built, based on ''MPI Resolution'' but slightly larger. They will be built by

Cosco China Ocean Shipping Company, Limited, formerly China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company, commonly known for its abbreviated name COSCO Group, or simply, COSCO, is a former Chinese Government owned shipping and logistics services supplier compan ...

, at their

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...

shipyard. The two new ships will be named ''MPI Adventure'' and ''MPI Discovery''. In February 2008, ''Resolution'' was sent to

Esbjerg Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022)

, Denmark to work on the installation of a wind farm. In January 2009, ''Resolution'' was used in the construction of the

Robin Rigg Wind Farm Robin Rigg Wind Farm, Scotland's first offshore wind farm, was constructed by E.ON at Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth, a sandbank midway between the Galloway and Cumbrian coasts. The windfarm first generated power for test purposes on 9 Septembe ...

. In 2010, ''Resolution'' was employed in the construction of the 100-turbine

Thanet wind farm The Thanet Wind Farm (also sometimes called Thanet Offshore Wind Farm) is an offshore wind farm off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. On commissioning it was the world's largest offshore wind farm. It has a nameplate capacity (max ...

, off the coast of

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, sometimes carrying and installing 9 complete turbines.100 turbines in 100 days
''

Vestas Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines that was founded in 1945. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, India, Italy, Romania, the Un ...

''. Retrieved: 4 September 2010. ''Resolution'' also featured in the documentary

Mighty Ships ''Mighty Ships'' is a documentary television program produced by Exploration Production Inc. in Canada and aired on Discovery Channel Canada and also broadcast around the world. Each episode of the series follows a particular sea-going vessel ...

, season 2.

Identification

''MPI Resolution'' has the

IMO Number The IMO number of the International Maritime Organization is a generic term covering two distinct meanings. The IMO ship identification number, is a type of hull number used as a unique ship identifier, and the IMO company and registered owne ...

9260134 and callsign PCJM.

References

External links

MPI Offshore official website

Current position of ''MPI Resolution''
* 2min , from

{{DEFAULTSORT:MPI Resolution Ships built in China Merchant ships of the Isle of Man Merchant ships of Cyprus Wind turbine installation vessels 2003 ships

Description

History

Identification

See also

References

External links