Anchors and Mooring Ancillary Devices

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Anchors and Load Shedding Devices

Innovation areas relating to anchor systems and mooring systems.

While anchoring solutions have been around for a long time, their use in floating offshore wind requires a new approach from many of the other maritime sectors where anchors are standard solutions. Even the widely used drag embedment anchor design has been revisited to make them more suitable for floating wind. Different seabed conditions also require suitable new anchor solutions.

Ancillary devices such as Load Reduction Devices are also being introduced to help with offshore wind mooring systems by mitigating severe mechanical and wave-induced stresses. Reducing the peak tension loads can reduce fatigue and offer the potential for smaller anchors to be utilised thus reducing overall costs.

Other devices such as mooring line tensioners are also covered in this section

Triton Anchor System - Triton Anchor Europe

The Triton Anchor system has multi helical piles which are driven into the seabed using a robotic subsea installation tool to provide the necessary torque. This results in a very low noise installation method compared to other piling methods.
This anchor system provides a suitable anchoring point for most types of floating offshore wind substructures, including TLPs, in a variety of seabed conditions.
The company point to its modular construction which lends itself to cost reduction in manufacture as well as in instillation costs.
US company, Triton Anchor, have set up a subsidiary Triton Anchor Europe in Edinburgh and are currently receiving support from the Scottish Enterprise CAN DO Offshore Wind Innovation Programme.

Image: Triton Anchor

Triton Anchor

Rock and Screw Anchors - Raptor Anchoring

Raptor Anchoring, part of the Orkney based Leask Group, offer patented grout free mechanical rock and screw anchors. These systems enable remote installation and tensioning offering a low carbon option compared to cement and resin solutions. This makes decommissioning or repositioning a much simpler process.
The company have a number of remote seabed drilling units including a larger bore hole subsea drilling unit capable of being deployed by Leask multicat vessels. This self levelling drill unit can operate at water depths up to 90m which is applucable to many of the ScotWind and Celtic Sea floating wind projects.

Image: Raptor Anchoring

Raptor Anchoring

Micropile Anchoring - Subsea Micropiles

Seabed anchoring system from Dublin based company, Subsea Micropiles, using multiple small bore piles with a steel foundation plate or anchor. The boreholes are drilled using the company's remote drilling rig.
The company also use advanced imaging techniques to allow the integration of seismic data, in-situ probe surveys, and instrumented piling to develop a 3D subsurface model that captures spatial variation and soil behaviour. By measuring soil properties at the selected anchor site this provides a more comprehensive understanding of soil formation.

Image: Subsea Micropiles

Subsea Micropiles

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Load Reduction Device - Dublin Offshore

Dublin Offshore's Load Reduction Device (LRD) combines both ballast and bouancy chambers in a tubular body which connects the floating platfrom to the anchor system.
The steel and concrete system has two connector arms mounted on low friction bearings and is designed for permanent mooring systems.
The LRD has been certificed by DNV. The company believe that, besides load reduction, their LRD will reduce fatigue and offer the opportunity for lower system CapEx by up to 40% through use of lighter platforms, smaller chain and anchoring systems.
In June 2026 the LRD was deployed at the Gulf of Maine test site in the US as part of DeepCwind's demonstration project for the Volturnus + floating wind turbine concrete foundation.

Image: Dublin Offshore

Dublin Offshore

SeaSpring - TFI Marine

SeaSpring is a maximum load reduction system from Dublin based, TFI Marine, which consists of a ultra-strong polymer cylinder, encasing a fully marinised metal sliding structure.
A number of SeaSpring devices can be installed in series on the same mooring chain/rope to match maximum load and fatigue reduction demands.
The company say that fatigue can be reduced by up to 30% and that the mooring load can be reduced by 50%.

Image: TFI Marine

TFI Marine

Rocksteady Tensioning Tool - Acteon (Intermoor)

Intermoor, part of the Acteon Group, has come up with a tensioning tool which they believe will simplify mooring system installation for floating wind farms.
Their Rocksteady Tension Tool brings mooring lines to optimal tension using a removable and reusable winch which can reduce costs when deployed across the whole floating wind farm. The Tool replaces the need for chain stoppers and fairlead systems which the company claims will reduce overall CapEx.
The development of the Tool has received support from Innovate UK in September 2025 and the company is now working with the ORE Catapult and developer Flotation Energy to commercialise the technology.

Image: Intermoor

Acteon

Other Innovation Spotlight Sections

Below are some of our other technology areas which may be of interest