Fred. Olsen Windcarrier successfully installed 47 units of the Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD turbine for the Formosa 2 Offshore Wind Farm in Taiwan.

The Formosa 2 offshore wind farm, located approximately 4-10 kilometres offshore in the Taiwan Strait, in Miaoli County, will generate 376MW, or enough electricity to power around 380,000 households. It has a surface of 68.81 kilometres. Its construction is in line with the Taiwanese government goal of adding 5.5GW of wind power to its energy mix by 2025.

The project was greenlit in 2018, and foundations were installed last year. Fred. Olsen Windcarrier for the transportation and installation of wind turbines by Siemens Gamesa in April 2021. The installation process began in June 2022, and was completed on 31st January 2023. Two self-elevating and self-propelled jack-up offshore wind turbine installation vessels were used in the process: the Brave Tern and the Bold Tern.

The vessels

The Brave Tern was built in 2012, and sails under the flag of Malta. It has a length of 132 metres and a width of 39 metres, a gross tonnage of 15328 tonnes, as well as a carrying capacity of 9033 tonnes. The vessel has a 800-tonne wrap-around-the-leg crane with a 26 metres outreach, and 102 metres over deck. Finally, the vessel has 3200 square metres of open deck space, DP2-class type dynamic positioning system and Voith Schneider propulsion system. The Brave Tern began installation in June, initially installing 26 turbines.

The Bold Tern was built in 2013 and also sails under the Maltese flag. The vessel measures 131.73 metres in length and 39 metres in width. It has a gross tonnage of 15,328 tonnes, as well as a carrying capacity of 9033 tonnes. The Brave Tern was replaced by Bold Tern in August for the installation of a further 14 turbines, after receiving upgrades.

A new crane

The vessel was upgraded in Singapore, in June 2022. This included the installation of a new 1600 tonne Huisman LEC crane, an increased width with sponsons, higher jacking and preload capacity, improvements to the mooring system, and 12 new single cabins. She also features a new offshore gangway and a blade rack supporting structure on the stern to optimise deck layout. Formosa 2 was the vessel’s second job using the new LEC.

In the final phases of the project Brave Tern was released from other commitments and working together both vessels could ensure the smooth completion of the remaining seven turbines. The Bold Tern will be kept in the region to complete new projects for different developers. The Brave Tern will return to Europe to be made ready for her next assignment. The new 1,600mt crane for the Brave Tern is currently being built, tailored to the requirements of tomorrow’s offshore wind farms.