Jumbo Orders LNG-powered Heavy Lift Ship
Dutch transportation and installation contractor Jumbo said it has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with shipbuilder China Merchants Industry Holdings (CMIH) for the construction of a new heavy lift crane vessel (HLCV) scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2020.
The DP2 vessel will feature dual fuel engines capable of operating on liquefied natural gas (LNG), and will be built to serve the offshore wind and the offshore oil and gas industries.
“Despite the current offshore climate, we are committing to this industry long term,” said Jumbo managing director, Michael Kahn. “Signing this Letter of Intent alongside CMIH, with their partnering mentality, is a key milestone for Jumbo’s offshore division to further step-up, scale-up and diversify into the global offshore energy market.”
The contract for concept and basic design for the vessel was awarded to Ulstein Design & Solutions B.V., who has developed as a customized version of the ULSTEIN HX104 design.
At 185 meters long and 36 meters wide, the HLCV will be the world’s largest X-BOW vessel, the designer said.
According to Edwin van Leeuwen, managing director at Ulstein Design & Solutions B.V., “The layout of the vessel with the X-BOW hull, results in a very cost efficient, safe and comfortable ship with excellent operational uptime and transit speed.”
Jumbo said the vessel’s two mast cranes will expand its lifting capacities beyond what its offshore division currently offers. The cranes designed and constructed by Huisman Equipment B.V. will provide lifting capacities of 2,200 and 400 metric tons respectively, and water depth ratings of 3,000 meters each.
The new HLCV will also be equipped with a moon pool and is flex-lay prepared, Jumbo said.