The first steel was cut for Huaxia Financial Leasing’s wind farm installation vessel at CIMC Haiyang Shipyard in China.
Built by CIMC Raffles, the vessel will have 139 metres in length, a width of 50 metres, a depth of 10 metres, a 1,500-tonne leg-encircling crane with a working radius of 45 metres, and a 250-tonne full-swing crane on the starboard side of the bow.
The jack-up will be used to install wind turbines with 15 MW and above capacity and equipment, as well as for the installation of foundations with a maximum operating water depth of 70 metres.
The ship will be fully electrically driven, designed for speeds of nine knots, with DP2-level dynamic positioning capability.
The installation vessel is able to accommodate 120 people and is qualified into the China Classification Society.
CIMC Raffles signed contracts with several companies for the construction of wind farm installation vessels, including Havfram and Van Oord.
At the end of last year, Havfram announced that its first vessel is under construction, following the execution of a shipbuilding contract with CIMC Raffles.
In December, a keel laying ceremony was held at the Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore yard for Van Oord’s next-generation jack-up vessel Boreas .