First Steel Cut for Mega Jack-Up Voltaire

Jan De Nul has started the construction of its next-generation jack-up installation vessel Voltaire with a steel cutting ceremony at the Cosco Shipping Shipyard (Nantong) in China.

The Voltaire is specifically designed to transport, lift and install offshore wind turbines, transition pieces, and foundations for current and future developments.

The jack-up is equipped with a main crane of over 3,000 tonnes and a DP2 system. She has an operating depth of over 80 metres, a payload of about 14,000 tonnes, and provides accommodation for 110 persons.

The latest generation of Jan De Nul’s vessels is equipped with an exhaust gas filtering technology that complies with the European EURO STAGE V guidelines for emissions on land and inland waterways. They are called Ultra-Low Emission vessels (ULEv) and the Voltaire is one of them, Jan De Nul said.

The dual exhaust filter system removes up to 99% of nanoparticles from emissions using a diesel particulate filter (DPF) followed by selective catalytic reduction system (SCR) for NOx removal.

As a result of these exhaust filtering systems, the Voltaire will be the first seaworthy installation vessel in the world with extremely low emissions, according to Jan De Nul.

The Voltaire is scheduled to enter service in 2022. The vessel’s first deployment will be on the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank offshore wind project in the UK to install the Haliade-X 12 MW wind turbines.