Belgian offshore contractor Jan De Nul said that its jackup installation newbuild Voltaire (IMO 9899284) had suffered minor damage after being hit by typhoon Muifa at the COSCO Shipping Shipyard in Nantong, China.
The eye of the typhoon passed over the shipyard during the night of September 14th/15th and as a result the vessel came loose from its moorings.
The company said that no injuries resulted from the incident and that first sight assessments had evidenced limited damage to certain parts of the crane and the helideck. The vessel has now been moored back in the shipyard. Assessments are ongoing.
The Voltaire due for delivery in the second half of 2022, will be the second and largest jackup in Jan De Nul’s fleet built to transport, lift and install next-generation offshore wind turbines, transition pieces and foundations.
Offshore installation specialist Jan De Nul Group said Thursday that the shipyard in China where its flagship jack-up installation vessel Voltaire is being built, was hit by typhoon Muifa in China during the night of 14 to 15 September 2022.
The vessel is being built for offshore wind and decommissioning work. It was launched only recently at the COSCO Shipping Shipyard in Nantong, China. Jan De Nul said in March that the Voltaire had been fitted with what it said was the world’s largest leg encircling crane.
The Voltaire has been designed to install the offshore wind turbines of the future, with turbines over 270 metres high and blades 120 metres long. The vessel will transport, hoist and install offshore wind turbines, transition pieces, and foundations. The vessel was equipped with a main crane of more than 3,000 tonnes.
When delivered the jack-up will mobilize to the UK for the construction of the 3.6 gigawatt Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, the world’s largest. It will transport and instal 277
GE Haliade-X turbines up to 14MW.
The delivery had been scheduled for H2 2022 but it was not yet clear if the weather-related incident would delay the delivery date.
Typhoon Muifa landed during the evening of last Wednesday September 14th as a strong typhoon, with the maximum wind speed near its centre reaching 94mph.
2022-built, Luxembourg-flagged, 46,300 gt Voltaire is owned and managed by Codralux SA of Capellen, Luxembourg.
