To provide peak performance in 35-meter seas, each turbine is being installed'on top of a 65-meter 'monopile' which weigh approximately 650-metric tons each.
Verbrugge Zeeland Terminal oversees the lifting operations during this transfer. After some research, their safety officers and engineers came upon ULTRALIFT' round slings with Dyneema' fiber, manufactured by Technotex, (Coevorden, NL). The ULTRALIFT' slings carry the CE mark, certifying their safety, and are rated for 180 metric tons (WLL) and 15 metric tons (EWL).
The Technotex ULTRALIFT' round sling offered the same strength as steel wire, chain, with a significant weight reduction'one-seventh of the weight of steel wire rope. In addition, they offer higher stiffness (no elastic response while lifting) and are smaller in diameter for improved handling and flexibility of positioning.
Besides safety, the ULTRALIFT' slings are also contributing to better handling of the expensive monopiles.' Because the slings are soft, they avoid damaging the monopiles during the lifting operations.'All the work done to-date strongly confirms the prognoses of safe and damage-free handling, cost savings as well as durability.