Seajacks expects the delivery of the first new jack-up vessel in the first quarter of 2012, and then additional offshore wind farm installation jack-up vessels shortly thereafter.

The jack-ups, which will double the Seajacks fleet, are being designed specifically to service the offshore wind farm installation market in the harsh operating environment of the North Sea, as well as to provide services to the oil and gas sectors.

The offshore wind farm jack-up vessels will be a modified version of the MSC NG5500 design, which incorporates a fully redundant DP2 propulsion system, accommodations for 90 persons, and an 800T leg encircling crane designed by MSC.

Seajacks currently owns and operates two self-propelled jack-up vessels out of Great Yarmouth in the UK, the Seajacks Kraken and Seajacks Leviathan. Both vessels are purpose built for installing offshore wind turbines, as well as being able to perform a number of niche operations for the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Blair Ainslie, Managing Director of Seajacks, says: "We are very excited about the additions to Seajacks' fleet and look forward to offering this new generation of purpose built vessels to our clients. The new vessels will facilitate faster and more efficient installation of turbines and foundations offshore, and provide us with an excellent platform for expansion into other aspects of this growth industry."

Seajacks was acquired by Riverstone Holdings LLC in January.