Seajacks Scylla Makes a Brief Stop in Rotterdam

Seajacks Scylla, the world’s largest jack-up vessel, has recently visited the Rotterdam Offshore Group (ROG) terminal in the Waalhaven, soon after installing 67 monopiles at the Veja Mate offshore wind farm some 95 kilometres north west of the island of Borkum in the German exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

During the vessel’s stay at the Waalhaven facility, ROG performed an upgrade on the Jack-up’s mooring system.

“We were very proud to have this unique vessel at our yard and believe the complete port of Rotterdam was also proud,” Martin van Leest, Managing Director at ROG, said.

”The level of interest was high and even The Spido tour boats adjusted their route to visit the Waalhaven to see Scylla.”

After the upgrade, Seajacks Scylla sailed to Esbjerg where the vessel has been mobilised for the second phase of the Veja Mate offshore wind farm project which includes the turbine installation of 67 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines at the 402MW wind farm.

Veja Mate is a EUR 1.9 billion offshore wind project expected to be fully operational by 2018.

John Vingoe, Operations Manager Seajacks UK Ltd, said: ”Seajacks are glad to say that the recent works conducted by Rotterdam Offshore Group, were done in a highly professional and timely manner. Dealing with Martin and his team to upgrade Seajacks Scylla has been a positive experience all round, and we highly recommend their workforce and services. The Port of Rotterdam is an ideal place to conduct works of this kind, given the proximity of quality suppliers and subcontractors, and we look forward to working there again soon. Scylla is now fully engaged in Wind Turbine Generator construction at the Veja Mate wind farm, and the high quality installations committed by ROG have been key to making this happen.”

Seajacks Scylla was delivered by the Samsung Heavy Industries Shipyard in Geoje, Republic of Korea in 2015. The vessel has been designed to operate in the UK Round 3 offshore zones, Scottish territorial waters and the other North West European markets.

Based on the Gusto MSC NG14000X design, the ABS-classed Seajacks Scylla, has more than 8,000 tonnes of available variable deck load. Equipped with a 1,540 tonne leg-encircling crane and a usable deck space in excess of 5,000 square meters, the unit is outfitted with 105-meter legs with the ability to install components in water depths to 65 meters. The rig is capable of meeting the installation needs of jumbo-monopiles, jackets, and turbines of future wind farms in deeper waters farther from shore.

Joost Eenhuizen – Business manager Offshore Port of Rotterdam Authority, said: “With more focus and consequently business in offshore wind in the Port of Rotterdam, we expect more jack-up vessels to call our port. Companies like ROG are taking care of a warm welcome to the new type of visitors of the harbor with specific needs for jack-up possibilities and professional (de) mobilization facilities.”