Sietas books order for wind farm jack-up

Hamburg’s J.J.Sietas is the first German shipbuilder to win an order to develop and build a jack-up vessel for offshore wind farm installation. The order is from Netherlands marine contractor Van Oord and includes an option for a second ship of the same type. Delivery of the first vessel is scheduled for September 2012.

The purchase price has not been disclosed. Rüdiger Fuchs, CEO of the Sietas Group, says the yard beat off tough competition from the Netherlands, China and the United Arab Emirates to win the order.

The formula for success, says Sietas, is that it will be acting as architect and integrator of the entire ship, supplying the offshore crane via Neuenfelder Maschinenfabrik (NMF), which also forms part of the Sietas Group, and guarantees the performance of its product.

“We outdid the competition with our know-how as shipbuilders and manufacturers of specialist cranes,” says Mr. Fuchs. “With a bid made up of the ship and crane, plus development and construction, we were able to offer a turnkey solution from a single source. In addition, we were more competitive than the other bidders in terms of the services we could offer and the price. We are the first company in Germany to have won such an order, as commissions for these special jack-up vessels have always previously been placed abroad.”

The Sietas jack-up vessel has been developed for use in offshore wind farms. It has a loading capacity of up to 6.500 dwt and can work safely in depths of up to 45 m. Thanks to its self-loading capacity and jacking system, which also maintains the ship in a stable position even in heavy seas, it can work reliably and quickly.

This innovative Type 187 special ship will measure 139 m in length and 38 m in width. It will have a 5.7 m draft and be capable of traveling at a speed of 12 knots.

Neuenfelder Maschinenfabrik (NMF) will equip the ship with a special offshore crane with an outreach of 30 m, capable of lifting 900 tonnes and of operating at a height of up to approximately 120 m above water level. When performing installations in wind energy farms, the special ship will be able to accommodate 74 crew members in single and double cabins.

Sietas says it now has orders in all its selected segments of special ship construction. Six special purpose ships currently figure in the shipyard’s order book: one heavy lift vessel, one dredge three ferries and the jack-up vessel. Five special purpose ships were constructed and delivered during 2010: a self-unloader, Ro/Ro island supply ship, a dredge, a heavy lift vessel and a ferry.

December 9, 2010