German Shipyard Starts on Offshore Windfarm Liftboat

Sietas Shipyard starts constuction of offshore wind power jack-up vessel for Van Oord

A start has been made on the construction by Sietas of the first sections and blocks of a offshore wind power jack-up vessel for the  Dutch marine engineering company Van Oord. 

Sietas is the first German shipyard to build one of these special-purpose vessels. Delivery is scheduled for the spring of 2013. In addition, Van Oord has an option on a second vessel of the same type. 

"The offshore market and wind farms are becoming more challenging. In future the foundations for these wind farms will be laid in water depths of up to 50 metres, instead of the current 30 metres. The turbines to drive the generators will in future require a power output of five to six megawatts, so they have become bigger and heavier. That is why we need this new type of vessel." said Peter de Ridder, COO of Van Oord.

The Sietas jack-up vessel was developed for use far from the coast in offshore wind fields. It has a transport capacity of up to 6,500 tons (tdw) and can work safely in water depths of up to 45 metres.  The type 187 is 139 metres long and 38 metres wide. It has a draught of 5.70 metres and a speed of 12 knots. 

Neuenfelder Maschinenfabrik (NMF) will equip the ship with an offshore special crane which can lift a 900-ton load with a reach of 30 metres and work at a height of about 120 metres above the water. The jack-up vessel will accommodate 74 crew members during its deployment in wind energy fields.