Ulstein, SeaOwls developing jack-up for offshore wind

Norwegian shipbuilder Ulstein and Dutch offshore consultancy SeaOwls BV have teamed up to develop a self-propelled heavy lift jack-up vessel intended to serve the offshore wind industry.

"Together we have come up with a new layout including number of alternative solutions that will significantly change and improve the installation of offshore wind turbines," Edwin van Leeuwen, managing director at Ulstein Design & Solutions, said in a statement on Monday.

According to the announced, the partners are not developing a scaled-up version of a conventional heavy lift jack-up vessel, but a complete new design. They have called it SOUL, which is derived from the companies' names.

The jack-up will be scalable and suitable for different crane sizes, variable loads and deck lay-outs, the two said. While targeted at the offshore wind sector, it will also be able to serve the offshore oil and gas market.

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