This strange ship is a wind turbine installation vessel carrying turbines for the Block Island Wind Farm, standing on four legs that will allow it to raise generators into position.
The wind farm, the first offshore facility of its kind in the United States, is located near Block Island, R.I. and is expected to generate 90 percent of the power consumed on Block Island. Built by Deepwater Wind and with construction by GE, its generators will produce 125,000 megawatt-hours of electricity.
In order to do that, the 132-meter-long, 39-meter-wide vessel named Brave Tern needs to bring the turbine nacelles and attached blades to the wind farm. GE Reports published a detailed look at the four-legged ship on July 20, showing how the wind farm’s nacelles will be installed 100 meters above the surface of the ocean.
The Brave Tern’s legs start out as towers held on top of the ship while it’s in motion. However, they are also able to drop through the ship and out the other side. Once it reaches the Block Island facility, the Brave Tern will drop the legs – and the entire ship will be raised into the air, allowing a crane to reach from the ship to the tall towers where the generating equipment will be installed.
The platforms that hold the nacelles were also specially manufactured in order to ensure that they remain safe in case of high waves. The Brave Tern could face waves up to 18 feet tall in its about two-week long voyage.
The wind farm will use five Haliade wind turbines to generate power, at 6 megawatts each.