CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering (CDWE) has held a strike steel ceremony in Taiwan to mark work officially beginning on its installation vessel Green Jade.
Green Jade is the first floating DP3 heavy lift and installation vessel to be built in Taiwan and she will sail under the Taiwanese flag.
The vessel will feature a combination of high transport and load capacity, lifting heights and green technology.
It has a has a 4000-tonne crane capacity and DP3 capability, which will enable CDWE and its customers to transport a multitude of the next generation, multi-megawatt turbines, jackets and components in a single shipment.
Set to enter service in 2022, Green Jade will be deployed for both the Hai Long Offshore Wind Project and at Zhong Neng for Zhong Neng Wind Power Corporation Preparatory Office.
CDWE signed Taiwan’s first comprehensive, large-scale balance of plant preferred supplier agreement with Hai Long Offshore Wind Project in October 2019.
For Zhong Neng, the contracts comprise the transportation and installation of the foundations, as well as a preferred bidder agreement for the transportation and installation of the turbines.
At 216.5 metres long, Green Jade has a spacious, unobstructed deck and can comfortably accommodate a crew of up to 160 people.
She will be capable of installing these mega monopiles and jackets at greater water depths and her DP3 technology enables the vessel to continue operations under the most challenging conditions.
‘Green Jade’ has dual fuel engines and a Green Passport and Clean Design notation.
Other environmental considerations include a waste heat recovery system that converts heat from the exhaust gases and cooling water to electrical energy, in addition to various other fuel-saving measures.
CDWE, Taiwan’s first offshore wind EPCI contractor, was established in February 2019 by CSBC, the largest shipbuilder in Taiwan, and DEME Offshore.
The steel cutting ceremony is a major milestone for the joint venture, which has already secured several important contracts in Taiwan’s flourishing renewables sector.
Representatives from the Hai Long and Zhong Neng offshore wind farm projects, the American Bureau of Shipping and the CR Classification Society, and CSBC, the shipyard in Kaohsiung that will build the vessel, were at the event.
CDWE chairman Robert Tseng said: “We feel proud and honoured to see the steel cutting of ‘Green Jade’ take place precisely on schedule.
“This is a marvellous step for CDWE and the Taiwan offshore wind industry.
“It indicates that the first Taiwan owned, built and operated main installation vessel has entered into the most important construction stage.
“For such a multi-functional and complicated vessel, the achievement of this important milestone shows our ambition and commitment to deliver the Green Jade on time and to the very best quality standards to ensure our client’s best interest.
“We will continue to work seamlessly with CSBC and all the stakeholders in the next two years and we are confident that CDWE will provide the most reliable and functional vessel to meet and exceed the high expectations of our clients in the offshore wind market.”