Solutions
Deep-set drilled anchor
The methodology to install deep-set, drilled-and-grouted mooring anchors for floating offshore wind, the drilling, the remote disconnection and the grouting are ours; the anchor itself can be yours or developed with us.
We supply the installation method, not a catalogue anchor. We have the in-house skills to develop the anchor too, and have done, but what we bring to a project is the proven way to get it deep into the ground and locked in.
Floating offshore wind needs anchors that hold enormous mooring loads at high line angles, on seabeds that range from soft sediment to hard igneous rock and the hard part is rarely the anchor on its own; it is installing it accurately, deep below the mudline and disconnecting and grouting it cleanly. That installation methodology is what MintMech has in hand and has delivered before in related drilled-and-grouted work.
What we bring – the installation methodology
- Deep drilled-and-grouted installation – using our proven large-diameter drilling to set the anchor in a deep borehole and lock it into competent ground well below the surface, where the holding capacity is.
- Remote disconnection tooling – downhole release tools, such as our shear sub, to disconnect the installation string cleanly once the anchor is set.
- Grouting spreads – our grouting spread for locking the anchor in place, including a high-pressure mud-pumping system reconfigured for grout pumping. See grout pumping.
- The anchor – yours or developed with us – we will install the anchor you bring, or develop one with you: the design skills are in-house, but the offering is the method, not a fixed anchor product.
Done well, a deep-set drilled anchor delivers very high holding capacity for its mass across soft soil to hard rock, including the taut-leg, high-angle loading floating wind imposes, where driven or suction methods struggle. It is a natural extension of our drilled-foundation work, aimed at making floating offshore wind cheaper and faster to anchor.