The ceremonial raising of the flag on Vidar, the powerful jack-up vessel, took place in CRIST Shipyard (Gdynia, Poland) today (December 6).
CRIST delivered Vidar, its second heavy lift jack-up barge for Hochtief Solutions. The vessel was developed for the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms. Her spacious deck cargo (3400 sqm) and the powerful 1200-ton Liebherr crane make the ship perfectly suit for fast and reliable assembly of foundations and wind turbines in increasingly deeper waters. The 90m high legs (4.8m in diameter) allow the ship to perform sophisticated assembly operations at water depths of up to 50m even in extreme weather conditions. The payload of this 140.4m long and 40m wide vessel may reach up to 6,500 tons (depending on operating conditions). Vidar operates at maximum speed of 11 knots.
For CRIST, the leading Polish shipyard specializing in newbuilds, it is yet another order from Hochtief following Innovation (another self-elevating wind turbines installation unit delivered last year) and Thor (jack-up platform delivered in 2010). Both of these vessels have been successfully operating in a number of locations, mostly in the North Sea area. Over more than two decades after its humble beginnings as subcontractor to local ship repair yards, the company evolved to one of the major players, building an impressive portfolio of successfully completed projects, including the three for Hochtief Solutions. CRIST boasts one of the largest graving docks in Europe (380 x 70 x 8 m equipped with the 1000 ton gantry crane).
HOCHTIEF is one of the biggest names in the offshore wind market. The company owes this position to construction and assembly of wind farms as well as chartering its fleet of heavy lift jack-up vessels.
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Press release, December 6, 2013; Image: CRIST Shipyard