VESSEL REVIEW | Hyundai Frontier – South Korean installation jackup delivered to owner

South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering and Steel Industries, a 100 per cent-owned subsidiary of Hyundai Engineering and Construction (Hyundai E&C), has completed construction on a new self-elevating vessel designed for offshore wind installation duties.

Hyundai Frontier will be operated by Hyundai E&C. The vessel is designed to perform lifting, transportation, and installation of offshore wind turbine components, hence reducing reliance on other vessels, in turn reducing operating costs and installation times. The newbuild is also notable for being the first wind turbine installation vessel to be built and operated in South Korea.

The vessel has a length of 85 metres, a beam of 41 metres, a displacement of 14,000 tonnes, a DP system, and a 1,200-tonne crane with a full 360 degrees of rotation and a maximum lifting capacity of 800 tonnes. The vessel was designed to be able to transport and install components of wind turbines up to 10 MW in capacity and 130 metres in height. Up to three 10MW turbines and their associated components can be transported and installed in one voyage.

Hyundai Frontier will initially be deployed off Jeju Island to support the construction of the Hyundai E&C-managed 100MW Jeju Hallim offshore wind farm, currently the largest offshore wind farm in South Korean waters. The owner expects the vessel will be able to install turbines totalling 300 MW in capacity within the span of one year.

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