ZITON, a leading player in the wind energy industry, recently completed the acquisition of the jack-up vessel GUO DIAN TOU 001 (formerly known as TORBEN and FRIEDERICH ERNESTINE) in Weihai, China. This vessel, which is a twin sister to WIND ENTERPRISE and the fifth addition to the ZITON fleet, has undergone a series of transformations to prepare for its new role as WIND ENERGY.
Over the course of seven weeks, WIND ENERGY was subjected to extensive refurbishment at a shipyard in Weihai. This process involved several critical tasks such as removing and cleaning the accommodation interior, changing the hull color from its original blue to ZITON’s distinctive shade of red, painting the accommodation building, jacking towers, main deck, and other upright structures, as well as undertaking a thorough indoor cleaning of cabins, galley area, and TV-rooms. Additionally, the vessel’s spud-cans were removed and loaded on deck for the upcoming transit.
On Saturday 6 August, the vessel was successfully loaded onto Boskalis’s semi-submerged vessel, FORTE, and is now ready to embark on its journey from China. ZITON anticipates the arrival of WIND ENERGY in Frederikshavn, Denmark, at the beginning of October 2023, where it will undergo a yard-stay for two months to ensure compliance with European standards through further retrofitting.
WIND ENERGY is set to commence a five-year time-charter with Siemens Gamesa starting from the New Year. ZITON sees this acquisition as a noteworthy milestone in its quest to expand its fleet and strengthen its position in the wind energy market.
 alongside in Weihai, China. The vessel – a twin sister to WIND ENTERPRISE and the fifth vessel in the ZITON fleet – were re-flagged to Danish flag and named WIND ENERGY. In the following seven weeks WIND ENERGY has undergone extensive work on a shipyard in Weihai to prepare her for her coming crew and for the long transit back to Europe. The work included: Accommodation interior removed and scrubbed. The blue color on the hull – worn since birth, changed into the ZITON red. Accommodation building, jacking towers, main deck and other upright painted.Extensive indoor cleaning of cabins, galley area, TV-rooms etc.Spud-cans removed and loaded on deck for the transit. On Saturday 6 August the vessel was loaded on to the deck of Boskalis’s semi-sub vessel FORTE and is now ready to depart from China. ZITON expects WIND ENERGY to arrive in Frederikshavn, Denmark, in the beginning of October 2023 for a yard-stay, where another two months of retrofit awaits to bring her up to European standards. WIND ENERGY is expected to be operational by New Year when she commences a five-year time-charter with Siemens Gamesa.){kind=link}