Fred. Olsen Windcarrier (FOWIC) has made another step forward in the upgrade of its its jack-up vessel Bold Tern. The vessel is currently undergoing modifications at the Keppel FELS Pioneer Yard in Singapore and will soon be united with its new 1,600 ton Huisman leg encircling crane. 

The LEC to be installed on Bold Tern has been loaded in one piece and is ready to be shipped to Singapore for installation. The crane has been loaded at the Chinese port of Zhangzhou onboard the Seaway Osprey. Shipping data shows the vessel is set to arrive in Singapore by March 12.

When it was built in 2013, Bold Tern was designed to carry and lift the 3.6MW turbines in use at the time. Today, turbines have grown to be far larger and heavier, and plans for the installation of turbines up to 15MW are already in place. While this means greater efficiency for electricity generation, their size and weight present a serious challenge in terms of transportation, installation, and maintenance.

As a result, the decision was made to install a new 1,600-ton LEC 65500 leg encircling crane on board Bold Tern. The new crane will be the highest in the market upon arrival, making the vessel one of the few in the world capable of installing the latest generation wind turbines.

Jan Sand Schanke-Jørgensen, COO, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier says, “With the lifting capabilities, extended outreach and flexible on-board storage capacity offered by this crane, we will be able to support next generation wind farm construction in an optimally efficient manner. We are looking forward to continue working with Huisman in the next stages of the project.”