Jan De Nul Orders Second Super-Size Vessel
Six months after the investment announcement for the offshore installation vessel Voltaire, Jan De Nul Group has ordered Les Alizés, a floating installation crane vessel from the CMHI Haimen shipyard in China.
The new vessel, scheduled for delivery in 2022, will be capable of building the newest generation of offshore wind farms with a crane having a lifting capacity of 5,000 tons. She has a deck loading capacity of 61,000 tons and a deck space of 9,300 m². Unlike the Voltaire, Les Alizés does not have four legs to lift herself above the sea surface. She is a crane vessel for floating installation and is equipped with a high-performance DP2 system.
She will be able to load out, transport and install multiple units of the largest and heaviest wind turbine foundations. In addition, as a crane vessel that floats, she will be able to install heavier and larger foundations into deeper waters and in more challenging seabed conditions.
New generation turbines can be more than 270 meters high, with blades up to 120 meters long, sitting on foundations up to 2,500 tonnes. The offshore installation vessels currently available on the market are experiencing great difficulties in installing these new turbines and their heavier foundations, with their enormous dimensions and installation weights, says Jan De Nul.
Les Alizés is also suitable for decommissioning offshore oil and gas platforms.
She will be equipped with an exhaust gas filtering technology that complies with the strict European EURO STAGE V guidelines for emissions on land and inland waterways. It removes up to 99 percent of nanoparticles from emissions using a diesel particulate filter followed by selective catalytic reduction system for NOx removal.
Les Alizés will also have a Cleanship NDO7 label and a Green Passport EU label. The Cleanship label confirms that the vessel checks and minimizes the waste water and all other residual waste. The second Green Passport label means that all materials and hazardous substances are mapped out during the construction phase, in order to facilitate the recycling of the vessel when decommissioning.
Les Alizés is named after the French word “alizé” which means “trade wind.” Trade winds are regular winds in the intertropical regions (between 23°27 north and 23°27 south), blowing from east to west. The name was chosen because for centuries, trade overseas has been done by means of sailing ships... renewable in the purest sense of the word, says Jan De Nul. The world today returns to renewables. Les Alizés will be at the service of offshore renewables, remembering the challenges the sailing ships faced in the past.
In July 2019, Jan De Nul Group concluded its first green loan with a consortium of five banks, led by KBC Bank, for the financing of both investments. The consortium of five banks consists of KBC Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING Luxembourg, Rabobank and Belfius Bank. A green loan should be used in its entirety to finance green projects.
Voltaire was ordered at the beginning of April 2019 and will be delivered in April 2022. Voltaire is the third jack-up installation vessel of Jan De Nul Group, and she has a main crane with a lifting capacity of more than 3,000 tonnes. She will also service the renewable energy sector to build the new generation of offshore wind farms and can also be used for the offshore oil and gas industry and decommissioning.