VESSEL REVIEW | Huseyin Kaygun – Heavy-lift and piling jackup barge for Turkish construction firm

Turkish construction group STFA took delivery of the jackup barge (JUB) Huseyin Kaygun on October 14, 2026, expanding its fleet with the addition of a non-self-propelled work platform for heavy lifting, piling and marine construction.

The barge was designed through a joint venture between DNA Marin and Poseidon. Bro's Maritime Crane built thje vessel at its factory in Aliağa under RINA supervision, and the barge was launched at Girgin Kale Shipyard in late July.

Poseidon General Manager Burak Acar said in August that the builder had completed construction, "in an exceptionally short... period of just 5.5 months." He described the barge as the companies' largest jackup project to date in size and carrying capacity.

“The owner's primary requirement was to develop a high-capacity and reliable jackup barge capable of carrying out heavy lifting and piling operations,” Acar told Baird Maritime. “The platform was required to have a large and functional working deck that could accommodate different operations, while allowing the crawler crane and piling equipment to be used effectively and safely in demanding environmental conditions.”

Acar added that it was also intended that the platform should comply with RINA class requirements and have the operational flexibility required to be used at different work sites.

Configured for handling heavy equipment and project cargo

The barge has a length of 42 metres (138 feet) and a beam of 24 metres (79 feet). The payload capacity is 900 tonnes, including the crawler crane. The clear deck area of 620 square metres (6,670 square feet) is rated for loads of 25 tonnes per square metre, so the deck can carry a range of heavy equipment and project cargoes.

The designers said the design took into account the sea and environmental conditions of the intended operating area, and that its operational design conditions were not limited to calm waters.

“The JUB is equipped with 42-metre-long spud legs, with one leg positioned at each corner, and a jack-up system with four lifting cylinders on each leg,” added Doğuhan Hazar Cengiz, General Manager of DNA Marin. “This system allows the platform to stand on the seabed and elevate itself above the water during operations, significantly reducing the effect of wave-induced motion and providing a more stable working platform.”

The jacking system has a lifting capacity of 2,000 tonnes and a preloading capacity of 4,000 tonnes, and can raise the platform at up to 15 metres (49 feet) per hour. Once the legs reach the seabed, the hull is elevated clear of the water, which the designers said significantly reduces wave-induced motion. The JUB is designed to operate in water depths exceeding 30 metres (98 feet).

The main working equipment is a 500-tonne crawler crane and a piling guide on the starboard side, with vibro hammer and hydraulic hammer equipment for different piling tasks. The open deck leaves room to position and change equipment as each job requires.

For mooring and towing, the barge has four 30-tonne mooring winches, four 2.5-tonne anchors, five high-capacity mooring bollards, and towing bollards.

"Our main approach in selecting the deck equipment was to avoid making the platform dependent on a single operation, and instead to create a flexible and functional working platform that could be used across different marine construction projects," said Cengiz.

The barge has no main propulsion. A tug or support vessel tows it and positions it at the work site, where it uses its own legs and jacking system to reach the seabed and move into its operating position.

Monitoring systems to help ensure safe operation

ARI Drones developed a measurement system specifically for the barge to monitor its operational safety and position. The GTASS sensor continuously measures how deeply the legs penetrate the seabed as well as the air gap between the elevated hull and the sea surface.

DNA Marin has described GTASS as a radar level sensor operating at a high frequency, with accuracy of up to ±5 mm and IP67 protection.

ARI Drones' FiBo, a portable radar device developed for marine operations, serves as a secondary method if the primary system is unavailable. It measures the vertical distance between the platform and the sea surface while accounting for wave motion, and it can also determine ullage for tank operations.

The manufacturer quoted up to 48 hours of continuous operation on a single charge.

The designers said conventional jackup barges rely mainly on mechanical and manual methods to monitor operational parameters.

"Rather than relying solely on conventional methods and operator observations, the platform benefits from dedicated smart measurement equipment that provides additional digital data for monitoring and operational decision-making," Acar told Baird Maritime.

The designers said structural strength analysis was one of the most challenging stages of the design.

"Carrying out the analyses while simultaneously completing the 3D modelling and developing the structure to be transferred into production requires a high level of coordination within a limited timeframe," Acar said, citing fast design development to class rules as a particular strength, supported by experience from earlier projects and customer references.

The size of the structure, the heavy blocks and thick steel plate, and the large volume of welding made construction particularly demanding.

Designed for offshore installation as well as marine construction duties

“In particular, lifting the JUB using its jackup system at the end of construction and carrying out the necessary tests is one of the most critical stages of the process, both technically and in terms of responsibility,” added Cengiz. “As the structure becomes larger, the scale and responsibility of every stage, from fabrication and assembly through to testing, increase accordingly.”

Acar and Cengiz agreed that the main lesson from the project was, "how important it is to understand the owner's operational requirements correctly at the earliest stage of the design process." Specifically, JUBs share the same fundamental principles, but requirements vary widely with the operating site and intended tasks, and the designers said they will continue to tailor future designs to each client.

The barge can also support subsea work and offshore platform operations as well as carry loads and heavy equipment between work sites.

“This multi-purpose configuration reduces the need for the owner to source separate platforms or equipment for different projects, allowing a single JUB to be adapted to a variety of operations,” Cengiz told Baird Maritime.