Paul Meersman’s Post

View profile for Paul Meersman, graphic

Igniting Growth and Shaping Change | Storyteller | Writer | Analyst | Marketer | AI Engineer | Photographer | Filmmaker

I love telling stories visually as well as in words. I'm fascinated by the ingenuity of inventors, engineers and designers who solve problems and overcome the most difficult challenges. I photographed two vessels in Ostend harbour deployed to work on the Seastar and Mermaid wind farms located in Belgian waters approximately 40-50 km off the coast of Ostend, in 22 to 38-metre deep water. The two windfarm projects will have a combined capacity of 487 MW. The wind turbines are 109 metres in height and have a rotor diameter of 167 metres. The plan is to install 58 turbines to power around 500,000 households. Once completed, the project should offset 700,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year. The Vole au Vent on the left is an offshore jack-up installation vessel built in 2013 in Gdansk, Poland. She sails sailing under the flag of Luxembourg.  The impressive crane of offshore jack-up installation vessel enables the safe installation of the heavy foundations and components of offshore wind farms. The ship is equipped with legs to lift itself above sea level to provide a stable platform that is unaffected by the waves. The Apollo first arrived in June 2020 at the REBO terminal in Ostend. It is a jack-up vessel designed to incorporate tools for the installation of turbines on windfarms in high winds of up to 15m/sec. Most vessels of this type only allow installation up to winds reaching 10-12m/sec. This capability gives the Apollo a significant advantage on the North Sea. The leg length of the Apollo is extendable to 106.8m. #VisualStorytelling #Inventors #Engineers #Designers #ProblemSolving #OstendHarbour #WindFarms #RenewableEnergy #OffshoreWind #CO2Reduction #SustainableEnergy #RenewableProjects #ClimateAction #GreenEnergy

  • No alternative text description for this image
Tali (Miller) Harif (Ph.D, MBA)

Innovation | Strategy | Business Development | Director | CCO | NED 🌍💧♻️ Transformation & Growth across Energy | Water | Climate | Sustainability

4mo

Lovely photo

  Your documentation of the vessels involved in the Seastar and Mermaid wind farm projects is fascinating. Your photos and descriptions beautifully capture the scale and complexity of offshore wind energy. It's impressive to see how these engineering marvels, like the Vole au Vent and Apollo, advance renewable energy and contribute to a sustainable future 👍

See more comments

To view or add a comment, sign in

Explore topics