Keppel to deliver Seafox 5 offshore wind turbine installer

Measuring 50m wide and 151m end-to-end, Seafox 5 is one of the largest and most advanced of its kind.

In a release, Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS) is on track to deliver Seafox 5, one of the largest and most advanced multi-purpose offshore wind turbine installers of its kind to the Seafox Group, ahead of time and with an impressive safety record. 

The vessel, Seafox 5, is able to operate in harsh environments and up to 65 meters water depth - the deepest for such vessels – as well as carry a wide variety of foundations and turbines. The vessel was named on 18 August 2012 at Keppel FELS with Singapore’s Acting Minister for Manpower and Senior Minister of State for National Development, Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, as the Guest of Honour.

He said, “As the first offshore wind turbine installation vessel built in Singapore, Seafox 5 marks a significant milestone in the capabilities and innovation by a Singaporean shipyard. I am glad to learn that, in line with Singapore’s push for increasing productivity, Keppel has been able to deliver this vessel more than a month ahead of schedule and with an excellent safety record. This reflects a goal that every company should aim towards: a productive workplace where the job is not only completed well and fast, but also enables every worker to return home to his family safely at the end of the day.”

Built to Keppel’s proprietary Multi-Purpose Self-Elevating Platform (MPSEP) design, Seafox 5 is a new-generation offshore wind turbine installation vessel that can withstand harsh offshore environmental conditions all year round in the deeper waters of the North Sea.
It has been chartered to the joint-venture company of Aarsleff Bilfinger Berger (ABJV) Dan Tysk to install offshore wind foundations in the 288 megawatt (MW) Dan Tysk wind farm in the German Sector of the North Sea.

Measuring 50m wide and 151m end-to-end, Seafox 5 will be among a handful of purpose-built jackups with a 1200-tonne heavy lift capacity and capable of installing both turbines and large foundations exceeding 800 tonnes in weight. Together with its environmental capabilities, stability coverage, deck space of 3,600m2 and a variable load of 7,000 MT, it is able to outperform most other jackups and be competitive with the floating heavy lift vessels.

Designed by Keppel’s research and development arm, Offshore Technology Development (OTD), Seafox 5 is a self-propelled installation jackup vessel utilising Keppel FELS’ proven jacking technology. Equipped with Dynamic Positioning 2 (DP-2) capabilities, the vessel is elevated above sea level by four legs which provide 30m of clearance between the legs & crane for easy cargo access.

Seafox 5 has a large carrying capacity of up to 12 3.6MW turbines, three jackets or four tripods at a time, which  In addition to being well-suited for servicing offshore wind farms, it also meets the stringent operating regulations of the offshore oil and gas industry and can support a wide range of related activities such as accommodation, hook-up, commissioning, well intervention, maintenance, construction and decommissioning.