Scroby Sands Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm located 2.5km off the coast of Great Yarmouth on the Scroby Sands sand bank in the North Sea. Abfad Limited have provided rope access services to the wind farm several times, working on various offshore maintenance and refurbishment projects, utilising Abfad's rope access skills,unique knowledge and abilities.

1. Scroby Sands Offshore
Wind Farm - Rope Access Offshore Maintenance
www.abfad.co.uk

2. Scroby Sands Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm
located 2.5km off the coast of Great Yarmouth on
the Scroby Sands sandbank in the North Sea.
The wind farm itself is owned and operated by E.ON
and consists of 30 wind turbine generators each
rated at 2MW, along with a metrological mast
which lies to the North of the wind farm.
www.abfad.co.uk

3. Abfad Limited
have provided rope access
services to the wind farm on
several big projects.
www.abfad.co.uk

4. Monopile refurbishment of the
first commercial wind farm in
the UK
INDUSTRIAL ROPE ACCESS SPECIALISTS
www.abfad.co.uk
ABFAD LIMITED

5. EXISTING CONDITION OF
MONOPILE STEEL BEFORE
PROJECT COMMENCED,
SEVERE CORROSION TO
STRUCTURAL BEAMS AND
MAIN BODY.
www.abfad.co.uk

6. Having extensive experience in
dealing with corrosion and specialist
coatings, Abfad Ltd were brought in
to refurbish the monopiles
steelwork from grating elevation to
sea level, using rope
access techniques and Abfad's
unique Magnet System.
Once on the monopile structure the
extent of the corrosion could be
clearly seen. Blasting to SA2.5
standard was carried out to remove
all sections of corrosion and the
existing coating was profiled and
feathered back and the new
protective coating applied by airless
spray unit.
www.abfad.co.uk

7. Abfad's patented permanent Magnet System
has proven invaluable in areas that can only
be accessed by rope but need a reliable
method of moving the rope technician closer
to the working surface and anchoring them
securely to enable them to carry out the
required work.
Use of this Magnet System provides the user
with a productivity advantage, increasing the
speed of work, such as blasting, spraying,
mechanical surface preparation, welding,
drilling, NDT inspections etc. by securing the
rope technician to the working substrate and
enabling a greater precision of work.
ABFAD'S MAGNET SYSTEM
www.abfad.co.uk

8. The work by Abfad was a complete
success with all corrosion removed and
the new coating applied, ensuring the
monopile was left with optimum
protection against the elements.
The work itself was carried out in two phases to enable
complete refurbishment of the monopile.
Phase 1 consisted of structural steelwork below the
walkway gratings being refurbished.
Phase 2 was to refurbish all steelwork below the colalr
section to sea elevation.
Walkway gratings and davit arms were removed in stages
to enable each phase to be succesfully completed before
moving onto the next.
www.abfad.co.uk

9. INDUSTRIAL ROPE ACCESS SPECIALISTS
www.abfad.co.uk
ABFAD LIMITED
Major Restoration to Scroby
Sands Offshore Met Mast

10. Scroby Sands
Wind Farm
Due to corrosion and
mechanical damage to access
ladders, a tender was awarded
to Abfad Ltd by E.ON Climate
and Renewables UK Ltd.
www.abfad.co.uk

11. S c r o b y S a n d s M e t M a s t
F a b r i c a t e n e w l a d d e r s e c t i o n s
a n d e i g h t c l a m p s , r e m o v e
e x i s t i n g d a m a g e d l a d d e r s e c t i o n s
a n d c l a m p s , b l a s t c l e a n t h e
s t r u c t u r e t o S A 2 . 5 s t a n d a r d a n d
a p p l y a p r o t e c t i v e c o a t i n g , i n s t a l l
n e w c l a m p s a n d t i g h t e n u s i n g
H y d r a t i g h t h y d r a u l i c e q u i p m e n t ,
t h e n i n s t a l l n e w a c c e s s l a d d e r s
t o t h e s t r u c t u r e .
The Project
Details.
www.abfad.co.uk

12. B l a s t i n g
C o r r o s i o n t o
M a s t S t e m a n d
U n d e r s i d e o f
w a l k w a y u s i n g
A b f a d M a g n e t
S y s t e m
www.abfad.co.uk

13. PROTECTIVE COATING
Once all blasting was
completed, the met mast
was spray coated with a
protective coating in order
to protect it from further
corrosion.

14. Once new ladder and clamp sections were
fabricated and coated ready for
installation, they were installed using
powered (battery) winches to swiftly lift the
clamps and ladder sections in to place and
hold them steady while they were installed
by Abfad personnel using rope access
techniques. This was to ensure the support
vessel deck was not damaged during the
lifting process and sea swells.
www.abfad.co.uk

15. HYDRATIGHT HYDRAULIC TIGHTENING
Newly fabricated clamp sections were
installed by Abfad personnel using rope
access techniques.
Trained Abfad technicians then
tightened the clamps using Hydratight
hydraulic equipment.
www.abfad.co.uk

16. Project Completion
To complete the project final
inspection and commissioning
checks were performed using
rope access methods.
www.abfad.co.uk

17. www.abfad.co.uk

18. NDT
NDT inspections on the Met Mast were carried
out on another visit at a later date, this included
tightening of all bolts on the structure.
www.abfad.co.uk

19. INDUSTRIAL ROPE ACCESS SPECIALISTS
www.abfad.co.uk
ABFAD LIMITED
Offshore Met Mast Removal
at Scroby Sands

20. SCROBY SANDS OFFSHORE
WIND FARM
R E M O V A L O F
L A T T I C E T O W E R
S E C T I O N O F M E T
M A S T
www.abfad.co.uk

21. MET MAST LATTICE TOWER
REMOVAL
In 2015 E.ON wanted the lattice
tower structure of the Met Mast
removed.
Having over 20 years experience of
onshore and offshore rope access
Abfad were the ideal candidates to
undertake such a task.
www.abfad.co.uk

22. Removal Using
Rope Access
The lattice tower is
constructed in two
distinct sections, with
the upper part making
up about 40% of the
tower and consisting of
both flanged and bolted
vertical sections with
welded diagonal
tubular bars.
www.abfad.co.uk

23. The lower section of the
lattice tower is made up
of both vertical and
diagonal struts which
are fully bolted.
www.abfad.co.uk

24. REDUNDANT ANEMOMETRY
DEVICES WERE ALSO PRESENT
AT THE TOP OF THE MAST,
THESE WERE ALREADY
DISCONNECTED FROM ANY
SOURCE OF POWER

25. The lattice tower needed to
be removed in manageable
sections, along with any
instrumentation. Abfad used
rope access techniques to
rig up a pulley system
which would safely and
securely lower the cut steel
sections onto the walkway
and then onto a service
vessel for disposal.
www.abfad.co.uk

26. PROJECT
COMPLETE
All sections of the Met Mast Lattice
tower were cut and removed by
Abfad's trained rope access
technicians, lowered using a rope
access pulley system and taken away
and disposed of by E.ON.
The job was a complete success and
accomplished well within schedule. www.abfad.co.uk

27. Abfad Limited have been established since 1996
and provide IRATA approved rope access
services, both onshore and offshore.
www.abfad.co.uk
info@abfad.co.uk