DEME has celebrated the arrival of its latest jack-up Apollo at a christening ceremony in the Belgian port of Zebrugge.
Belgian athlete Nafi Thiam (pictured, second from right) performed the official naming of the vessel. Thiam is currently Olympic, World and European heptathlon champion.
“Being a champion in the seven disciplines of the heptathlon is a real test of strength, endurance and versatility. These are features we also recognize in the vessel and crew of Apollo,” DEME Offshore managing director Hugo Bouvy said.
Bouvy said the vessel will work across the oil and gas and offshore wind industries, primarily installing and decommissioning platform facilities.
The vessel started working for DEME Offshore late last year and has recently carried out decommissioning work on Orsted’s Hornsea offshore met mast.
DEME said it had a full order book for the vessel. Apollo will carry out jacket pre-piling works for jacket installation at EDPR’s 950MW Moray East wind farm.
Apollo features 106.8 metre lattice legs and can operate in water depths of up to 65 metres. It has a 800-tonne leg-encircling crane and 2000 square metres of deck space.