A launch ceremony for 'Neptune' took place on September 23 at the IHC Merwede shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel, Netherlands.
The self-elevating heavy-lift jack-up vessel is being built by IHC Merwede for GeoSea, the offshore marine construction company based in Belgium. The contract for the design, construction and delivery of the vessel was signed between GeoSea and IHC Merwede in September 2010 and the keel was laid on 25 March. The vessel will be operational in the first quarter of 2012.
'Neptune' is DP2-equipped, self-propelled jack-up vessel measuring 60 metres in length and 38 metres in breadth. The vessel is equipped with a dedicated 600-tonne crane that is fully integrated into the hull. 'Neptune' is designed for the transport and installation of offshore wind turbines and other heavy marine offshore structures. Once operational, 'Neptune' will be provided with a Green Passport delivered by American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
On delivery to GeoSea, the vessel will start its first assignment on Thorntonbank off the Belgian coast, where it will perform the installation of 48 wind turbines for the second and third stages of the C-Power offshore wind farm. Then, it will move to German waters in the North Sea for the construction of the Trianel West Borkum II wind farm and the EnBW Baltic 2 wind farm.