Heerema offshore wind floatover barge taking shape in China

Construction started last month on Heerema Marine Contractors’ new H-731 float-over barge at the Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering yard in Daishan, China.

The 220-m barge is being built specifically for TenneT’s 2-GW offshore wind development program in the North Sea. It is due to be delivered in second-quarter 2027.

It will have a topsides float-over capacity of up to 40,000 m.

During the design phase, one of the priorities was optimizing sailing behavior. This should lead to much reduced fuel consumption during towing, according to Heerema.