Fred. Olsen Windcarrier (FOWIC) has chosen Navatia S.A., S.M.E., and the facilities of Navantia Fene Ferrol Shipyards in Spain for the update and upgrade of its wind turbine installation vessel Brave Tern .
Brave Tern is a jack-up vessel for the installation of wind turbines and associated equipment in offshore wind farms and the purpose of this project is to increase its current capacity for such tasks.
During most of 2023, the work will include material procurement, engineering development, and fabrication.
Once Brave Tern arrives at the yard somewhere between late 2023 and early 2024, most of the work will be on board the vessel.
The planned stay at the yard is about seven months, with around half of that time in drydock, so the work will be carried out partly alongside a repair berth and partly in drydock, both in the yard’s facilities Fene and Ferrol.
At the beginning of last year, FOWIC revealed that Brave Tern will receive a new 1,600-tonne Huisman crane which will be installed in 2024.
The vessel also underwent some changes in May 2022. The vessel’s spud cans were upgraded which were reinforced to manage a preload weight of 9,000 tonnes on the spud can tips, according to the company.
The vessels’ ballast system was also upgraded and Brave Tern also received a replacement for one of three bow thrusters.