US contractor NOV has entered into a contract with Chinese yard CIMC Raffles to design a wind turbine installation jack-up vessel for Norwegian offshore wind services company Havfram.

NOV, which has been involved in offshore rig and vessel design after it acquired Dutch design firm GustoMSC in June 2018, will provide the GustoMSC NG-20000X-HF wind installation vessel design.

The NG-20000X-HF vessel will be equipped with a 3250-tonne crane, capable of installing offshore wind turbines with rotor diameters exceeding 300 metres in water depths of up to 70 metres, as well as XXL single piles weighing up to 3000 tonnes.

The vessel will apply a battery hybrid transmission system to significantly reduce carbon emissions per installed megawatts of offshore wind capacity, Havfram said.

Compared with the first GustoMSC NG20000X vessel under construction at CIMC Raffles, the carbon emissions per installed MW will be reduced by more than 70%, the contractor claimed.

Like the first vessel, Havfram’s second self elevating ship will be equipped with NOV’s variable speed drive rack and pinion lifting system, including regenerative power generation system technology that feeds back power generation to the ship’s system.

The vessel has a large transportation capacity, which reduces the number of trips required for wind power developments thereby improving project economics.

In late April, Havfram Wind placed the order at CIMC Raffles for the second GustoMSC NG20000X jack-up vessel that is due for delivery in 2025.

Havfram — headed by group chief executive Ingrid Due-Gundersen — has already signed a contract with Orsted to install wind turbines at the UK Hornsea 3 project, starting in the third quarter of 2026.

Also, Vattenfall has appointed Havfram as preferred supplier for its UK North Sea projects, starting in early 2027.