Sarens has long been a trusted partner to offshore wind operators, especially across European coastlines. After we had successfully performed work for the offshore Saint-Nazaire project, our client DEME Offshore once again turned to us for assistance with a wind farm development off the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier, in France.

Sarens began working on the project in La Rochelle, France in March of 2024 and is set to complete it in early 2025. Our involvement spans the load-in, onshore storage, and load-out of 61 MPs measuring 62 metres high and weighing a maximum of 1.200 tonnes, as well as 61 TPs measuring 35 metres high and weighing up to 440 tonnes.

For this multi-stage operation, Sarens first contracted local groundworks company Charier to build seven pairs of dunes for MP storage. Then, to handle the MPs, Sarens brought in 45 axle lines Kamag K24 SPMTs. The MPs are arriving at the quayside via marine shipments from China, and are being stored on land via 24/7 load-ins performed over link spans with the Kamag SPMTs.

Over 100 elephant feet (stools) of 500mm were also purpose-made for the TP storage bases. A total of 35 TP bases were built on site, more than originally foreseen, due to a mismatch between the TP arrival and departure schedule. Sarens was quickly able to increase the number of required bases at the request of DEME.

The TPs have been arriving in 16 shipments from Vlissingen, NL, and are being lifted onto the quayside and picked up for storage. A total of 24 axle lines Cometto SPMTs with a TP handler have been deployed for moving them as they arrive. Because the terrain at the work site is not flat, however, extensive shimming has had to be done to ensure that the TPs would be straight. 

The Sarens TP handler is excellent at quickly and efficiently moving the units from quay to storage and back. However, because these particular TPs have a higher height to diameter ratio than usual, it makes their transport particularly sensitive. The team has to ensure that the maximum speed, inclination, and even wind are significantly lower than usual during operations.

To bring in all the specialized equipment necessary for these operations, Sarens used approximately 18 trucks for the SPMTs, 7 trucks for the TP handler, and a few dozen more trucks for the TP bases. The equipment has been performing well on site since its delivery, with almost zero downtime.

Currently, approximately two MPs and two TPs are being stored at the quayside each week. The DEME Innovation jack-up installation vessel lifts the items up from the quayside for installation at sea. 

For this project, normal load-out operations involve one supervisor and one operator on-site. Load-ins for the MPs rely on two teams of one supervisor and two operators, for night and day operations.

Sarens is proud to be expertly supporting this operation with our transportation and storage solutions, and our ability to successfully adapt to windy winter conditions that can pose challenges to workability. We are pleased to be helping our client DEME on this major energy project for Vendée, which is scheduled for commissioning in 2025.