Abstract
The experiences and lessons gained on the Oyster 1 project led Aquamarine Power to make some fundamental changes to the design philosophy to improve access and maintenance for Oyster 800. This package of work highlights the lessons learnt on the Oyster 1 project, and documents how these areas were improved for Oyster 800. The report also highlights where the changes made were effective and where they could be improved further.
The maintenance philosophies are considered, first examining the case study of the Oyster 1 experience and including a review of access issues to WEC components and activities such as cylinder exchange. General observations on the influence of the equipment, work vessel, and offshore personnel/dive teams are described, which are intentionally high level to be relevant to all the needs of all developers. The modularity and inherent maintenance features implemented for Oyster 800 are covered in detail, such as the cylinder and accumulator modules, while the poor reliability of the non-modular components and the modifications made post-installation to improve this are also described.