The innovative walking jack-up platform WaveWalker 1 was presented with the Product and Equipment Innovation Award at the prestigious Ground Engineering (GE) Awards ceremony in London last week.
WaveWalker 1, developed by Fugro and Van Oord, is an innovative, eight-legged ‘walking’ jack-up barge (self-elevating work platform – SEWP) designed especially for marine operations in rough seas, surf zones, beaches and other intertidal locations where operation of traditional SEWPs is uneconomic.
Its bi-directional movement allows it to move and relocate without floating, and can considerably boost productivity in tasks such as geotechnical site investigations, drilling, trenching, pipeline and cable-laying, blasting and other marine and underwater work.
In January 2013 WaveWalker 1 began its first task – a Van Oord project supporting drilling and blasting works in order to deepen the Suape Outer Channel, a contract awarded to Van Oord in 2011.
This is the second award for the innovative walking jack-up barge operated by WaveWalker BV, a joint venture between Fugro Seacore and Van Oord, WaveWalker 1 was successful in November 2013 winning the British Engineering Excellence Award for Mechanical Product of the Year.
[mappress]
Press Release, May 21, 2014