Operating Depth

As most wind farms today are sited in 10 to 40 meters of water, a long expensive umbilical is not needed. Often, re-purposed systems will have existing umbilical capable of 2500m water depth operations. Longer umbilicals can even impair shallow water operations, as the remaining wound umbilical can actually heat up on the winch reel. Umbilicals also need to be “end-for-ended” over time and eventually replaced. A shorter umbilical can benefit ship stability and reduce maintenance requirements—all while reducing capital expenditures.

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