Fred. Olsen Windcarrier has signed a long term time charter with Falcon Global for their jack-up vessel Jill.
Jill will be an integrated part of the Fred. Olsen Windcarrier jack-up fleet for offshore wind, where she will be under commercial management of Fred. Olsen Windcarrier. The jack-up will be working out of Europe and mainly carry out O&M work in offshore wind.
The vessel is currently on a heavy lift vessel across the Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico and will be ready to start work in Europe from mid-April 2019, according to Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.
Jill’s first job in Europe will be suction bucket installation tests out of Frederikshavn in Denmark together with Universal Foundation, scheduled to commence in the second half of April. The first contracts for main component exchanges will take place shortly after arrival, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier said.
“With Jill joining our fleet, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier can provide a competitive vessel to the O&M market for the 3-5 MW offshore wind turbines. Jill is capable of servicing up to 80% of the installed offshore wind base and we look forward to showing the offshore wind market what this vessel is capable of. Apart from using her for major component exchanges within O&M, she can among other things also be used for offshore accommodation and for blade transportation,” said Casper Toft , Chief Commercial Officer, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.
Jill is equipped with 102m long legs, a rack and pinion hydraulic jacking system, a large cargo deck and in addition to her main crane, good crane coverage by her three auxiliary cranes. She was built to accommodate 132 persons in addition to crew, this will, however, be limited to a total of 80 persons in Europe. Jill is capable of transporting WTG components up to 5MW and can carry major components such as gearboxes, generators, transformers, blades and full drive trains for O&M jobs.
“We are pleased to have Jill join our fleet. This agreement will strengthen our relationship with Falcon Global and give us valuable experience in working together providing services to clients. We will combine the American crew with the Fred. Olsen Windcarrier experience and safe hands from the offshore wind industry”, said Alexandra Koefoed , Managing Director, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier.