Jan De Nul’s Next-Generation Jack-Up Breaks Loose at Shipyard During Typhoon Muifa

The world’s tallest jack-up installation vessel under construction in China has sustained some damage after breaking loose during Typhoon Muifa, Jan De Nul confirmed in a statement.

The vessel, named Voltaire, is under construction at COSCO Shipping Shipyard in Nantong, China and is planned for delivery later this year.

Jan De Nul said the shipyard took a direct hit from Typhoon Muifa overnight on September 14 to 15, with the eye of the storm passing directly over the shipyard and causing the vessel to come loose from its moorings.

No injuries were reported and Voltaire is now safely moored back in the shipyard. Initial assessments show limited damage to certain parts of the vessel’s crane and helideck, while additional assessments are on-going.

No word yet whether the event will delay the vessel’s delivery.

Voltaire was launched back in January. The vessel will be largest jack-up vessel in Jan De Nul’s fleet, with a main crane capacity of over 3,000 metric tons and four giant legs measuring 130 meters. The vessel will be used for the installation of generation offshore wind components as well as offshore oil and gas decommissioning.

Voltaire was ordered in 2019 along with the Les Alizés, an equally capable floating installation vessel also due for the delivery later this year from the CMHI shipyard Haimen, China, adjacent to Nantong.

Typhoon Muifa made landfall twice as Category 2 storm in Eastern China’s Yangtze River Delta, the country’s most populated metropolitan area and home to some of the world’s biggest shipping ports. The typhoon first crossed over land at Zhoushan Island before passing over Hangzhou Bay and eventually coming ashore in Shanghai.

Upon delivery, Voltaire has been contracted to transport and install 277 14 megawatt-capacity GE Haliade-X turbines at the Dogger Bank wind farm in the UK, which at 3.6 gigawatt capacity will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

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