Brave Tern is a purpose-built heavy-lift jack-up vessel which was constructed for Fred Olsen Windcarrier. The self-elevating and self-propelled vessel was manufactured by Lamprell at its Jebel Ali facility, in Dubai. The vessel was successfully launched in February 2012 and was delivered to its owner in October 2012, following a naming ceremony held at the Lamprell Shipyard in May 2012.
The vessel was built for installing offshore wind turbines and related equipment. It can also be engaged in maintenance and repair of the turbines. The turbine weighs around 14,800t, making it the largest wind farm installation vessel to be built in the Middle East.
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Lamprell was awarded two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts worth $320.4m by Fred Olsen Windcarrier in February 2010 for the design, construction and delivery of two offshore wind turbine installation vessels. The second vessel named Bold Tern was delivered at the end of March 2013.
GustoMSC’s designed purpose-built vessel for Fred Olsen Windcarrier
Brave Tern is of Gusto MSC NG-9000 design developed by the Dutch ship designer GustoMSC. The vessel is capable of undertaking fully loaded voyages to offshore installation sites at high-speed. She can be deployed in water depths of up to 142ft in North Sea-like environments.
The vessel has a large working deck of 3,200m² and a load capacity of 5,300t per leg, which facilitates installation of various equipments suitable for individual operations.
The vessel stands on four cylindrical,self-elevating legs, which each measure 78.4m long. Each leg is installed with a continuous speed jacking system and features a diagonal pre-loading system for smooth and quick installation. Maximum leg length below the ship baseline is about 58m.
The overall length of the ship’s hull is 132m and breadth is 39m. Depth to the main deck is 9m, while minimum draft is 4m.
The ship is also equipped with a leg retrieval system with a capacity of 50m³/h at 30bar per pump and 150m³/h at 10bar per pump.
Accommodation space and facilities aboard the Maltese installation ship
Brave Tern provides accommodation to 80 personnel on-board with 56 cabins located at the forward end of the vessel. Cabins are installed with satellite TV / video and have bathrooms attached.
Other facilities include a fitness room, laundry and TV room and offices and workshops for clients.
A helicopter landing deck is provided on the top of the deck house This has a diameter of 22m and a capacity to carry 12.8t. It is suitable for the operations of Sikorsky S92 / S61N or Super Puma AS 332L2 helicopters.
Hydraulic jacking system and main crane of the heavy-lift ship Brave Tern
Brave Tern is equipped with a continuous hydraulic positive engagement jacking system designed by Gusto MSC.
Its effective jacking capacity is 5,300t per leg, while maximum holding capacity is 9,000t per leg. Platform lifting speed and platform lowering speed are approximately 79ft and 98ft an hour respectively.
The vessel is fitted with a Gusto GLC-800 electric-driven rail crane, located 102m on top of the port side aft jack house. This has a maximum hoisting capacity of 800t at 79ft outreach.
The main crane also has an auxiliary hook with a lifting capacity of 50t. This is capable of performing in wind speeds of up to 16m/s.
The ship is also equipped with two deck cranes, each able to lift 20t at 89ft radius.
Fire-fighting and safety equipment
The fire-fighting and safety equipment on-board the vessel complies with DNV Offshore Standards, IMO MODU Code and SOLAS/SPS Code, North Sea Standard.
Safety equipment aboard the vessel includes two lifeboats with inflatable rafts and a high-speed rescue boat, fitted with a crew finder system.
Fire-fighting facilities include a fire and gas detection system, with an emergency shutdown (ESD) feature, fire ring main, ultra fog water mist system, deluge and sprinkler.
Propulsion and power generation from VSPs and Wärtsilä systems
Brave Tern is fitted with a diesel electric propulsion plant. The thrust for transit is provided by three Voith Schneider propellers, each of 3,800kW capacity. This propulsion system gives the vessel a transit speed of 12kt.
The power plant comprises four Wärtsilä diesel electric generator sets including two 9L32 (4,230kW), one 6L32 (2,880kW) and one 12v32 (5,760kW) generator. It also features an emergency generator of CAT 3512B with an output of 1,400kW.
Manoeuvring and positioning with a DP Class-2 control system
Brave Tern is installed with a Dynamic Positioning (DP) Class-2 control system to automatically maintain her position and heading. For smooth manoeuvring, the vessel is equipped with three Wärtsilä Lips tunnel thrusters, each rated at 1,750kW.
