Roll Group transports for US offshore wind farm

Work has started on a new wind farm 27 miles (44 km) off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA. The wind farm is a co-operation between Dominion and Ørsted Wind Power North America, with Jan De Nul Group as subcontractor.

Roll Group is helping to complee the project that will have the capacity to generate 12 MW of electricity. On 31 March the first foundation components of two wind turbines were loaded onto the BigRoll Beaufort at the EEW facility in Rostock, Germany. For safety purposes, the in-house engineers of Roll Group designed dedicated grillage for Jan De Nul. It was installed onboard the BigRoll Beaufort in Gdynia, Poland, before loading.

After loading in Rostock, the BigRoll Beaufort made a port call in Esbjerg, Denmark, to load the tower sections and blades. In mid-April the ship set sail for Halifax, Canada. The foundation components will be discharged by Jan De Nul’s installation vessel Vole au Vent. In the meantime, Jan De Nul will assemble and commission the tower sections onboard the BigRoll Beaufort and prepare it for installation by the Vole au Vent.

“This project is important to us,” said Bastian Bojko, Roll Group operations director. “Because it gives us the opportunity to show that Roll Group has vessels that are highly suitable for the offshore wind industry. Being part of this pioneering and complex project where our vessel is an integral part of the shipping and assembly scope shows the true added value we can deliver from a technical and operational perspective.’’

Philippe Hutse, Jan De Nul Group offshore director, said, ”This contract is an important milestone for the international maritime industry. It opens the door for non-US marine companies to work in the United States. Moreover, this is the first American wind farm in federal waters. We are proud to be the first European marine contractor to pave the way.”