PRESS RELEASE – After the extension of their land activities into Asia in 2019, Roll Group starts 2020 in a similar manner with the addition of another module carrier into their fleet.

On 6th January 2020, Roll Group officially took ownership of an additional vessel from the market. With a length of 146 metres, a width of 32 metres and 12,285 deadweight tonnes, the vessel is slightly smaller than the current module carriers in the fleet – BigRoll Bering and BigRoll Beaufort – but has a wider deck space than the RollDock dock type vessels.

The newly acquired vessel was originally built in 2015, and will soon be painted in Roll Group livery and renamed as BigRoll Biscay. The vessel will help Roll Group to grow as a provider of combined land/sea transports.

Adriaan Aarts, Roll Group CEO commented: “We are convinced this is a good investment considering the improving outlook for the years ahead. We expect many developments in the near future and have identified a need for additional tonnage to serve our clients in the Oil & Gas and Offshore Wind markets.” He added that given the large scale of some of the upcoming projects, further expansion of the fleet was necessary.

The flush cargo deck of the BigRoll Biscay measures an impressive 123.8 x 32.2 metres. The overall deck load capacity of all Module Carriers is 20 mt/m2. The BigRoll Biscay isn’t ice-class certified like the BigRoll Bering and Beaufort, but in contrast, the Biscay does have DP2.

Peter Rondhuis, Roll Group CCO stated: “This new vessel will enable us to serve clients that require DP capabilities for their projects and also provides more flexibility and back-up for our existing fleet.” Rolldock’s other module carriers are not equipped with DP but are ready to be upgraded if desired, Rondhuis adds.

In the coming years, Roll Group intends to further expand its fleet and heavy lift equipment as well as strengthen its organisation with carefully selected partnerships in order to handle larger-scale projects.