Offshore Wind Power Construction Vessels & Equipment System | Complete Guide

2026-04-05 19:49:25     Category：Technical Resources     Browse number：97     Release time：2026-04-05 19:49:25

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Offshore Wind Power Construction Vessels & Equipment System 

Foreword

As offshore wind power development moves toward deeper and farther waters, and as single-unit capacity of wind turbines continues to rise, construction environments extend from inshore to deep and farshore areas. The size and weight of wind power equipment have also increased significantly, leading to higher operational difficulty and safety risks. Against this background, marine equipment, as the core carrier of construction, directly determines the operational window, safety risks, and costs. A highly efficient and adaptable vessel system is critical to supporting the delivery of far-reaching offshore wind projects.

1. Starting Point of China’s Offshore Wind Power

• No standards

• No technology

• No experience

• No equipment

2. Full-Life Cycle Vessel System for Offshore Wind Projects

2.1 Preliminary Survey & Design Phase: Basic Data Collection

1. Environmental Survey Vessels

   Quantity: 2–4 vessels per project

   Scope: Fishery and benthic surveys along export cable routes; deployment of LIDAR buoys for environmental assessments.

2. Geotechnical Survey Vessels

   Quantity: 1–6 vessels per project

   Scope: Seabed sampling and drilling tests to optimize turbine and cable locations.
   
   

3. 
   
   
   Geophysical Survey Vessels

   Quantity: 1–6 vessels per project

   Scope: Acoustic mapping of seabed features; detection of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

4. 
   
   
   Metocean Monitoring Vessels

   Scope: Hydrological, meteorological, and ecological monitoring to support EIA and construction window selection.

• Maximum operating water depth: 80m

• Speed: 6.5 knots

• Wind resistance: up to Grade 16

• 3 scientific moonpools

• Localization rate: over 97%

• Integrated functions: drilling, geophysical detection, monitoring, and on-board laboratory analysis.

2.2 Construction & Installation Phase: Core Equipment (5–25 vessels per project)

1. Floating Heavy-Lift Foundation Vessels: 1–2 vessels, for foundations and piling.

2. 
   Wind Turbine Installation Vessels (WTIV): 1–2 vessels, for lifting and component replacement.

3. 
   Feeder Spread (Barges + Tugs): 2–3 vessels, for port-to-site component supply.

4. 
   Supply Chain Transportation Vessels: for component transfer.

5. 
   

6. Rock Dumping / Scour Protection Vessels: 1–2 vessels, for cable and foundation protection.

7. 
   Dredgers: 1–4 vessels, for seabed leveling.

8. 
   Safety / Scout Vessels: 1 vessel, for security and traffic coordination.

9. 
   Noise Mitigation Vessels: 1 vessel, using bubble curtains to reduce piling noise.

10. 
    Accommodation Vessels: 0–2 vessels, for crew quarters.

11. 
    Construction Support Vessels: for fuel and material supply.

3. Core Construction Vessels & Equipment

3.1 Transport Barges

• By propulsion: Non-propelled (economical), Self-propelled (efficient).

• By loading type: Deck Barges (mainstream), Semi-Submersible Barges (for float-on/float-off).

  Representative: 45,000-ton semi-submersible barge Si Hang Yong Xing.
  
  
  

3.2 Crane Vessels

• By slewing capability: Fixed slewing, Full-slewing (mainstream).

  Representative: 12,000-ton self-propelled full-slewing crane vessel Zhen Hua 30.

Domestic crane vessels for full turbine installation:

• Hang Feng Fan: 96m×40.5m×7.8m, draft 4.8m, lift 2400t

• Dong Hai Gong 7: 108m×44.6m×7.8m, draft 5.25m, lift 2600t

• Si Hang Fen Jin: 100m×41m×7.6m, draft 4.8m, lift 2600t

• De Fu 3600: 118.9m×48m×8.8m, draft 4.8m, lift 3600t

• Da Qiao Hai Ou: 114.4m×48m×8.8m, draft 4.8m, lift 3200t

• Chang Da Hai Sheng: 110m×48m×8.4m, draft 4.8m, lift 3200t

Domestic major crane vessel lifting capacities:Zhen Hua 30 (12000t), Hua Xi 5000 (4500t), Hang Jin Tai (4000t), Yu Hang 3000 (2800t), etc.

3.3 Pile Driving Vessels

• Types: Luffing, Slewing, Gantry, Oscillating, Platform.

  Representative: World’s largest luffing-type pile driver Er Hang Chang Qing.

Current status:All are non-propelled barges; size much smaller than crane vessels; applications declining; may exit offshore wind.

3.4 Specialized Offshore Wind Installation Vessels

(1) Bottom-Sitting Platforms (Critical Added Content)

• Origin: Intertidal wind farms.

• Development: Extended to shallow-water offshore wind.

• Principle: Sail afloat → ballast down to sit on seabed → operate → deballast and float.

• Application: Extremely shallow water, intertidal zones, tidal flats.

• Features: Flat bottom, large bearing area, strong ballast system, low cost, high stability.

• Functions: Foundation construction, piling, shallow lifting, intertidal installation.

(2) Jack-Up Installation Vessels

With retractable legs; jack up to lift hull above water; suitable for medium-shallow water.Representative: Tie Jian Wind Power 01 (1300t).

Domestic jack-up wind installation vessels:

Bai He Tan, San Hang Feng He, Hai Long Xing Ye, Ou Yang 005, San Hang Feng Hua, Guo Dian Tou 001/003, Long Yuan Zhen Hua 3, Tie Jian Wind Power 01, Gang Hang Ping 9, Hua Xiang Long, Yan Da De Jian, Shang Da Qun Li, Fu Chuan San Xia, Da Qiao Fu Chuan, Zhong Chuan Hai Gong 101.

Key questions:Suitability for deep silt seabeds in China; feasibility of “around-the-leg lifting” in soft clay.

(3) Floating Installation Vessels

3.5 Cable Laying Vessels (CLV)

• By propulsion: Self-propelled (deep water), Non-propelled (shoal).

• By positioning: DP1 to DP3.

  Representative: 10,000-ton cable layer Qi Fan 19.
  
  
  

4. Completed Offshore Wind Farms in China

• Donghai I: 34 units, 100MW, high-pile cap

• Donghai II: 30 units, 100MW, high-pile cap

• Three Gorges Xiangshui: 35 units, 200MW, high-pile cap

• Lingang I: 25 units, 100MW, high-pile cap

• Lingang II: 28 units, 100MW, high-pile cap

• Guodian Putuo: 63 units, 250MW, high-pile cap

• Zhuhai Guishan: 31 units, 100MW, jacket

• Guodian Xiangshan I: 10 units, 62MW, high-pile cap

• Guohua Dongtai: 1 unit, 4MW, monopile

5. Landmark Global Offshore Wind Projects

1. Vindeby Wind Farm: World’s first (1991, 0.45MW, gravity foundation).

2. Bockstigen Wind Farm: World’s first large-diameter monopile (1998, water depth 6m, 0.55MW).

6. Main Construction Technology: Transport-Installation Separation + Pile-Stabilizing Platform

1. Avoid jack-up leg plugging/pulling; higher efficiency with crane vessels.

2. Jack-up platforms are costly and not widely accepted in China.

3. Pile-stabilizing platform decouples vessel motion from piling quality, enabling transition-piece-free monopiles.

4. Low-cost use of boom-type crane fleets greatly improves efficiency.

• Foundations: Monopile 95%, Jacket 5%.

• Installation: Split installation 98%, Full installation 2%.

• Mode: Integrated transport-installation and separated systems coexist.

7. Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Vessels

1. Service Operation Vessel (SOV): Mobile base, accommodation, supply, long-duration operations.

2. Service Boat: Short-distance crew transfer.

3. Offshore Crane Vessel: Component replacement and repair.

4. Emergency Response Vessel (ERV): Rapid rescue.

8. Auxiliary Vessels

• Tugboats

• Supply vessels

• Transport barges

• Rock dumping vessels

9. Safety & Assurance Systems

• Floating vessels: Accurate weather window prediction.

• Platform vessels: Precise hull-seabed mechanical control.

• CCCC Third Harbor Engineering experience: One calculation per machine; one calculation per vessel; full monitoring; standardized procedures.

10. Industry “Four Trends”

1. Far-reaching deepwater development

2. Upscaling of turbines

3. Grid parity

4. High-turnaround construction

• Inshore: Wind waves.

• Offshore: Long-period swells.

• Conditions: Strong swells, deep water, thick mud.

11. Future Technology Directions

• Big data and machine learning for site parameters

• Cloud technology for on-site support and safety management

• Extreme sea condition adaptability

• Compatibility with large-scale turbines

• Green and low-carbon engineering

• Localization of core components

Conclusion