Scylla is packing up jacket installation at Saint Brieuc, but which project will be next for the vessel?
Seajacks Scylla has been pretty busy this year under the contract with Van Oord, where the vessel has been installing turbines on Hollandse Kust Noord and jackets on Saint Brieuc. The original contract was a vessel charter for a year (2023), but it was announced earlier this year that the charter would be extended with a value of €2.6 million that might translate to additional two more months of charter. Considering that Saint Brieuc is finished, the next suspected project could be the UK offshore wind project Sofia.
Foundation installation for this project was awarded to Van Oord, and it is expected to begin next year, if not sooner. Aeolus, Van Oord’s best equipped jack up vessel, has left Europe and is presumably heading to the US for turbine installation. One could argue that Aeolus could transit across the Atlantic, install the 12 turbines on South Fork and transit back to Europe to be ready to install monopiles at Sofia. The vessel will lose close to a month in transit time alone and it is likely that turbine installation will be slightly more difficult in the US than the vessel is used to in Europe.
Last but not least, the notice to mariners released by Sofia Offshore Wind Farm states Seajacks Scylla will undergo jacking trials in the Dogger Bank area where Sofia is located. It’s not to say that Scylla will necessarily do all the monopiles, but it looks like the vessel will kick off the monopile installation.
Image Credit: Seajacks
