The Fred. Olsen heavy-lift jack-up vessel Brave Tern moored up at Southampton this morning; here are a few facts about the giant vessel.

This morning the ABPmer office was treated to an unusual sight: Brave Tern, the Fred. Olsen Windcarrier heavy-lift jack-up vessel, stopped overnight at Southampton en route to Dunkirk.

Jack-up vessels are fairly uncommon at the Port of Southampton, so when one does moor up, it certainly stands out.

Here are a few facts we uncovered about this giant vessel:

1. Following an upgrade, the vessel can now carry up to four complete 'multi MW' turbines with full towers, in water depths of up to 60m

2. It features a 12.8t-capacity helicopter landing deck

3. Its 56 cabins can accommodate up to 80 people, complete with a fitness room, laundry and TV room

4. The ship's hull measures 132m by 39m

5. The joint construction project for Brave Turn and the equally-impressive Bold Turn jack-up cost $320.4m

6. It has 3,200m² open deck space, allowing it to transport, lift and install turbines of any size or weight

7. Three Voith Schneider propellers, each of 3,800kW capacity, give the vessel a transit speed of 12kt

8. Its typical payload is 9,500 tonnes 

9. With a turbine weighing around 14,800 tonnes, it is the largest wind farm installation vessel ever built in the Middle East

With eight purpose-build service boats alongside the two jack-ups, Fred. Olsen needs to make fast weather-dependent vessel transit decisions. One of our oldest weather downtime clients, Fred. Olsen uses ABPmer's SEASTATES downtime calculator to understand and manage weather-related risk.

To learn more about our weather downtime service, visit our SEASTATES microsite.

^{Sources: 4C Offshore, Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, Ship Technology}