As part of Heerema's mission to create sustainable values, they have been working on developing 'silent foundations.' Pile foundations for offshore structures that can be installed without loud hammering, which can be harmful to marine life and requires noise mitigation systems that produce a considerable CO2 footprint. The concepts being investigated are helical or screw piles and so-called push-in piles.
Heerema is proud to announce that DNVGL has now awarded a Statement of Feasibility to both concepts that are under development. Despite the challenges in 2020, this development could continue with the University of Dundee's support, who executed an extensive testing and modeling program.
As part of a technology qualification process, the results were extensively discussed with DNV-GL, and several workshops were conducted to review the foundation concepts and the development results. The Statements of Feasibility are the first formal step towards qualifying these technologies for actual use in offshore structures. This achievement would not have been possible without the team's flexibility and dedication at Heerema and the University of Dundee. Simultaneously, the commitment of DNV-GL to pursue this process in times of lockdowns and online meetings could help Heerema continue to make the impossible possible offshore.