Finnish naval architecture firm Deltamarin and Spanish counterpart Offshoretronic have entered into an exclusive engineering consultant agreement to develop what the two companies said will be the world’s largest jackup monopile and wind turbine installation vessels.
Under the agreement, Deltamarin and Offshoretronic will further develop the installation vessel to a so-called shipyard-ready status.
The vessel will be designed to be capable of installing 20-30MW wind turbines, which the two companies expect will enter commercial service by 2030.
These turbines will be deployed in water depths ranging from 30 to 60 metres, thus necessitating monopile foundations measuring 100 to 130 metres in length and 12 to 16 metres in outer diameter as well as weighing up to 5,000 tonnes.
The partners said the installation vessel will be engineered to accommodate monopiles exceeding 3,000 tonnes, a capability that surpasses the operational limits of the current global fleet, which typically peaks within the 3,000- to 3,500-tonne range.
The series will be built to deliver a future-proof architecture that will effectively balance capital expenditure with operational expenditure. Advanced system integration and streamlined operational workflows will ensure that the vessel remains a highly competitive asset throughout its full lifecycle and can be deployed for worldwide operations.
The vessels will be available in two variants: a monopile installation vessel (MPIV) and a wind turbine installation vessel (WTIV). Each MPIV will have an LOA of 179 metres and a beam of 75 metres to deliver exceptional deck space while each WTIV will be purpose-built for the safe and efficient handling of 20-30MW turbine generator components including towers, nacelles and blades, which will be stored in a safe longitudinal axis of the vessel.
