National Oilwell Varco (NOV) has been awarded an equipment package for a wind turbine installation vessel for Shimizu Corporation
NOV, through its subsidiary GustoMSC, has worked closely with Shimizu on the customised jack-up design. It will incorporate a proprietary 2,500-tonne telescopic leg crane designed specifically for the offshore wind market to provide a combination of high-elevation hoisting capability for turbine installation and heavy load capability for foundation installation.
Japan Marine United shipyard will construct the unit. Delivery of the vessel, which will be the largest and most-capable in the region, is expected in late 2022.
The Japanese company announced preliminary details of the new vessel in July 2019 and said it planned to start constructing it in August 2019.
It highlighted that, currently, there are no similar vessels in Japan capable of installing wind turbines in the 8 MW class or larger. It also highlighted that, because of high demand in Europe, it is not easy to charter a vessel to undertake work in Japan.
The company said the vessel will be approximately 142 m in length with a breadth of 50 m. The crane will have a maximum lifting height of 158 m and the vessel will be capable of installing turbines in water depths ranging from 10 m to 65 m.
Shimizu said it would be capable of transporting all of the components for seven 8-MW wind turbines, or three 12-MW turbines, and will be able to install seven 8-MW wind turbines in 10 days or three 12-MW wind turbines in five days. The vessel will be able to jack up and down during the 10-second long swells characteristic of the Pacific Ocean.
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