High-End Windmill installation vessel in the market

 

The year 2011 offshore wind power market was :

• 235 new offshore wind turbines, in nine wind farms, worth some €2.4

billion, were fully grid connected between 1 January and 31 December 2011, totalling 866 MW, 17 MW less than 2010.

• 246 turbines were erected during 2011, an average of 2.6 MW per day. 81 of these turbines are awaiting grid connection.

• Three experimental foating concepts were erected, one of which was a fullscale grid connected concept.

• Offshore work began on a further fve projects and preparatory onshore work on nine new projects.

Market outlook :

• Once completed, the nine offshore projects currently under construction will increase installed capacity by a further 2,375 MW, bringing cumulative capacity in Europe to 6,188 MW.

• Preparatory work has started on nine other projects, these have a cumulative installed capacity of 2,910 MW.

Trends:  Turbines, foundations, water depth and distance to shore  :

• The average offshore wind farm size in 2011 was almost 200MW up 29% (45MW) on the previous year.

• Average water depth in 2011 reached 22.8m, substantially more than 2010.

• Average distance to shore decreased, being 23.4km in 2011 compared to 27.1km the previous year. 

Mr Keesjan Cordia, CEO of Seafox said, "The fact that Seafox 5 has already received a charter for immediate work speaks of the strength of the MPSEP design, the reputation of Keppel-made products and Seafox's track record in multi-support service jackups across the world.

"We see that demand for such vessels will continue to rise with the commercialisation of 5MW wind turbines over the next few years. Seafox 5 is a new generation vessel which will be able to out-perform existing marine assets both on cost and efficiency in wind installation. In addition, this state-of-the-art vessel has been specifically designed to meet all the requirements of both the offshore wind and the oil & gas industries in harsh environments."

Measuring 50m wide and 151m end-to-end, Seafox 5 will be among a handful of purpose-built jackups with a 1200-tonne heavy lift capacity and capable of installing both turbines and large foundations exceeding 800 tonnes in weight.

Together with its environmental capabilities, stability coverage, deck space of 3,600m2 and a variable load of 7,000 MT, it is able to outperform most other jackups and be competitive with the floating heavy lift vessels.

                                                                      Courtesy of Windydigitalchina



Seafox 5 designed by KeppelFels OTD



Designed by Keppel's research and development arm, Offshore Technology Development (OTD), Seafox 5 is a self-propelled installation jackup vessel utilising Keppel FELS' proven jacking technology. Equipped with Dynamic Positioning 2 (DP-2) capabilities, the vessel is elevated above sea level by four legs which provide 30m of clearance between the legs & crane for easy cargo access.

Seafox 5 has a large carrying capacity of up to 12 x 3.6MW turbines, three jackets or four tripods at a time, which enhances the efficiency of constructing offshore wind farms.

In addition to being well-suited for servicing offshore wind farms, it also meets the stringent operating regulations of the offshore oil and gas industry and can support a wide range of related activities such as accommodation, hook-up, commissioning, well intervention, maintenance, construction and decommissioning.

Features of Seafox 5 - A KFELS MPSEP design         

Operates in deeper waters Max. 65-70 meters

Wider operating window All-year-round

Larger deck space 3600m2

Higher loading capacity 7000 metric tonnes

Higher carrying capacity Up to 12 x 3.6MW turbines, 6 6MW turbines, 3 jackets or 4 tripods

Larger crane capacity 1200 tonnes ( Liebherr )

Accommodates bigger crew 150 people

The Group services a global range of customers with a primary focus on the Southern North Sea in Europe. It has extensive experience operating and managing assets in this region, which is known for its stringent rules and regulations, and difficult environment.

                                                             Below clip with courtesy of  "Seajacks" :

Below with courtesy of Emre Uraz, Master thesis presentation on offshore wind turbine installation analyses :

Final Presentation Emre Uraz

SEAFOX 5 RR