A2SEA - owned 51 % by Dong Energy and 49 % by Siemens Wind Power - has signed a contract with Chinese company Cosco Shipyard Group Co., Ltd., for the construction of a new jack-up vessel specially designed for the purpose of installation of offshore wind turbines.
The contract has a value of US$ 155 million. The new agreement with Cosco is for a vessel identical to “Sea Installer”, ordered in 2010, but extended by a longer crane able to lift up to 900 tons. The new vessel will be 132 m long and 39 m wide, which makes a loading area of 3,200 m², and will reach a speed of up to 12 knots. It will be optimized to operate at water depths of up to 45 m, and is expected to be delivered in 2014. "With the fast growing offshore market in Northern Europe, we can already today see that the demand for installation vessels will grow dramatically. With the new vessel we take a big step continuing to shorten the time of installation and thereby bringing down the cost of energy from offshore wind energy,” says Jens Frederik Hansen, CEO, A2SEA.
Photovoltaic Feed