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00:00Neptune is a ship out of water, and that's exactly how she's meant to be.
00:05It's quite amazing.
00:07A brand-new, self-elevating vessel,
00:10custom-built to deliver and assemble massive wind turbines in rough seas.
00:15Rock and roll, ladies.
00:17We work through rain, we work through snow, but the wind is the biggest killer.
00:21Neptune must install 30 wind turbines in just five months.
00:27It's going to take everything she's got to finish on time.
00:40This doesn't look like a typical ship.
00:43That's because Neptune belongs to an elite class
00:46known as self-elevating, or jack-up vessels.
00:50Ships like this are built to carry heavy loads,
00:53self-elevating, or jack-up vessels.
00:56Ships that use hydraulic legs to raise themselves out of the water.
01:00These 18-metre cylinders are her legs.
01:04Raised above the deck when she's sailing,
01:07and lowered into the sea floor when she needs to become a stable work platform.
01:13Built in the Netherlands, 60 metres long and 38 metres wide,
01:17Neptune is a brand-new ship on her first job.
01:21Transporting and assembling the world's largest, most powerful wind turbines.
01:29Neptune is waiting to load up in the Belgian port of Ostend.
01:36From here, she will sail 30 kilometres to the Thornton Bank wind farm,
01:41where her crew must install 30 turbines over the next five months.
01:47Neptune's work manager is Nordin Saidi Mazarou.
01:52I will get her before Sunday.
02:00For Belgium, it's one of the biggest offshore wind farms that are accomplished.
02:05It supplies quite a big amount of people with electricity.
02:09So, yeah, for Belgium, it's a big project.
02:13Each 6-megawatt turbine is made up of four components.
02:17Two tower sections, the nacelle, which is the turbine's engine room,
02:22and the rotor assembly.
02:25Altogether, the turbine weighs 700 tonnes and stretches 95 metres above the water.
02:33The rotor blades spread out 126 metres,
02:37almost double the wingspan of a 747 aircraft.
02:42Erecting these turbines on land would be difficult enough.
02:46But they're building them out in the North Sea,
02:49where the same powerful winds that will drive the turbines
02:52can stop their construction in a matter of minutes.
02:58Even though this is his first time on a Jakob vessel,
03:01no one can anticipate the challenges of working offshore better than Captain Frankie Peters.
03:07We can start around midnight.
03:13Everything is in quite good timing for now.
03:18It's always nice to work with new equipment, new technologies.
03:23It's a very advanced ship.
03:27Before departure, Captain Peters meets with his crew on board Neptune
03:31to work out last-minute details.
03:35First, the weather assessment.
03:37There will be a lot of current, so that could delay the operations a little bit.
03:43The latest forecast predicts decent weather for two days,
03:47but they need three days to fully install a wind turbine.
03:50But that's not going to stop Neptune.
03:54It's a go for this night.
03:57Neptune's journey to build her sixth wind turbine begins at the pier in Ostend.
04:03She only has room on deck to transport one turbine at a time.
04:09For the loading, she's extended her four legs down to the harbour floor.
04:16She needs to be completely stable to take on the 700-tonne cargo,
04:20the turbine's two tower sections,
04:22the nacelle, or engine room,
04:24and the rotor.
04:27To stay on schedule, the crew must load all the pieces within the next 12 hours.
04:34Okay, Fabio, slowly hook up.
04:38A crane on shore begins moving the turbine pieces onto Neptune's deck.
04:47I'm hoping that we don't get any delay during the loading time,
04:51because it's always a very heavy lift.
04:57This shore crew from Germany is in charge of loading the cargo.
05:01They do not sail with the ship.
05:05First, the two tower sections.
05:09The top section weighs in at 100 tonnes and stretches nearly 34 metres high.
05:15Okay, slowly turn left.
05:18At every stage of the move, the shore crew has to keep their tower from being rocked by the wind.
05:24Slowly hook down.
05:27The crew spends two hours guiding the tower sections into their cradles.
05:35And then bolts them down for the journey to the wind farm.
05:43Now the loading job gets even tougher.
05:46It's time to load the rotor.
05:49Okay, Sven.
05:50Open the hatch.
05:56Okay.
06:02Weighing in at 138 tonnes, it's designed to catch the wind.
06:09No problem once it's been installed out at the wind farm,
06:12but a major concern during the loading.
06:21To make the job even tougher,
06:23the rotor's blades have to be eased onto the deck between Neptune's four soaring jack-up legs.
06:30The rotor can crash in the Neptune.
06:32The blade can be damaged.
06:37Very narrow space.
06:39Very accurate piece of green work they need to do.
06:44To prevent the blades from hitting Neptune's legs,
06:46lines are used to steady the 138-tonne rotor.
06:51Today, even a slight wind has the shore crew struggling to control the rotor's descent.
07:02The wind is the problem of this morning.
07:08After a 90-minute tug-of-war with the wind, the rotor lands on the deck.
07:15But the crew's not finished yet.
07:17They still need to load the 324-tonne nacelle, the turbine's engine room.
07:25Keeping this mass of steel under control is absolutely critical for the crew.
07:31A strong gust of wind could turn the nacelle into a wrecking ball.
07:36Their final challenge is landing this hefty load precisely in its cradle on the ship's deck.
07:49Finally, the last and heaviest piece makes it safely on board.
08:06All good, guys?
08:07Yes.
08:08It's finished.
08:10The rotor is on board.
08:11The nacelle is on board.
08:13Towers are on board.
08:15So we're almost completely done for the moment.
08:19Her crew of 20 now prepares the ship for departure.
08:23It's a six-hour sail to the wind farm.
08:26If the weather holds out, the crew will take three days to install the turbine
08:30and head back to Ostend to pick up another.
08:36It's 3 a.m. High tide.
08:42Frankie, it's coming out slowly.
08:45And Neptune is scheduled to leave port.
08:49Neptune lowers herself to the waterline,
08:51retracts her legs and transforms into a seagoing vessel.
08:59Harbour party.
09:01How was it?
09:02Good.
09:04Harbour pilots arrive on the bridge to guide Neptune and her extra-wide load
09:08through the narrow channel.
09:10The pilots bring sensors that use GPS as well as shore-based antennae.
09:16They're even more accurate than Neptune's on-board navigation system.
09:20So we go upstairs.
09:22We have to take care that the antennas are put in the correct way
09:26because we don't want to have any interference.
09:30And now we switch her on.
09:33The turbine rotor blades hanging over the sides
09:36are three times wider than Neptune herself.
09:40At the shipping channel's narrowest point,
09:42Neptune will have just two to three metres clearance
09:45between the blades and the channel walls.
09:52To keep the rotor blades safe,
09:53the pilots will navigate using a combination of satellite and land signals
09:58until they exit the channel.
10:08As Captain Peters guides Neptune slowly into the channel,
10:11the pilots call out heading changes.
10:16328.
10:18That's the heading according to the predictions
10:22to get right in the middle of the channel.
10:25330.
10:29Neptune approaches the most dangerous stage of her departure.
10:33We're now in the tightest moment of the manoeuvring.
10:36And when we look at the schedule,
10:38we see that we have three metres on the left side
10:40and two metres on the right side from the critical zone.
10:46Harbour Control has ordered all traffic to stay out of the channel
10:49while Neptune squeezes through.
10:52But then, suddenly, an unidentified ship is spotted on radar.
10:56Coming right for her.
10:59Fishing boats for other ships wanting to enter the harbour,
11:02but that's not a good idea for the moment.
11:05To make matters worse,
11:06this oncoming boat is not responding to any radio contact.
11:12A month into her first job,
11:14the self-elevating or jack-up vessel Neptune
11:17is carrying the components for a 700-tonne turbine
11:21to a wind farm off the Belgian coast.
11:23Right now, she's sailing through a narrow channel out of Ostend.
11:27And she's on full alert.
11:29On orders from harbour authorities,
11:31this channel should be clear of all other traffic.
11:34But a fishing boat is sailing directly into Neptune's path.
11:39Its crew are not responding to harbour pilot Eric de Klerk's radio calls
11:43to move out of the way.
11:46We have strict priority.
11:47Everybody has to keep out of the way for this ship.
11:50Everybody has to keep out of the way for this ship.
11:53And he's not listening, and he's causing great danger for everybody.
11:58Harbour police are forced to intervene.
12:02We have also a police patrol,
12:04which went up to the fishing boat to have contact with her.
12:07Apparently she switched off her radio and was not listening.
12:10The fishing boat clears out of the way.
12:13It's a huge relief.
12:15By night-time, it's always more dangerous than by day-time, of course.
12:19With the channel now clear, Neptune can exit the harbour.
12:25Captain, all the best. Have a good trip.
12:27Thanks for the cooperation, and see you next time.
12:33Now Neptune heads for the Thornton Bank wind farm,
12:3630 kilometres away.
12:39To arrive safely, the deck crew must check and recheck
12:42all the lashings and bolts securing the massive cargo.
12:46With the ocean's constant rocking,
12:48even a load as heavy as 700 tonnes can shift.
12:53On his regular rounds,
12:54crew member Marco Novrocki makes a frightening discovery.
12:59This bolt is completely loose. I can move it by hand.
13:02Other bolts are also loose, but not like this one.
13:13He acts immediately to keep the cargo and the ship safe.
13:23Sunrise, and Neptune arrives at the Thornton Bank wind farm,
13:27Belgium's newest and most advanced offshore energy project.
13:32When complete, it will boast 54 turbines
13:35connected to an offshore generating station,
13:38unleashing 325 megawatts of electricity,
13:42enough to power a city of 600,000.
13:47Neptune is about to install Thornton Bank's latest wind turbine.
13:53For works manager Nordin Saida-Mazeru,
13:56it's the job of a lifetime.
13:59To be part of such a big project is what you intend to do
14:02when you start engineering school.
14:04It's an amazing opportunity, and to work with such a great team
14:07and to work with big vessels, it's amazing to do that.
14:11The turbine foundations, called jackets,
14:13are already in place, anchored to the seabed.
14:17Alongside the jacket is a smaller jack-up vessel, the Vagant.
14:23It acts as an on-site hotel for a 28-man crew
14:26from the German turbine manufacturer.
14:29They live out here on the Vagant for two weeks at a time,
14:32while Neptune sails back and forth, reloading in Ostend.
14:38It's still quite windy.
14:41There's more than one knot of current going to the north.
14:47Captain Peters eases Neptune closer to the jacket.
14:53We need to pay extra precaution
14:57that we're not getting too close to the jacket with the propeller plate,
15:01otherwise we will have damage.
15:03Neptune must park exactly in the right spot,
15:06so her crane is close enough to lift
15:08and install the turbine pieces onto the jacket.
15:13If we are missing by, let's say, four or five meters,
15:16we will not be able to lift all the elements anymore,
15:19so it's very important that we are now in a good position.
15:23To position her beside the jacket,
15:25the crew calls on Neptune's state-of-the-art dynamic positioning system.
15:31We put in the position of the jacket,
15:34and a predefined position where Neptune should come
15:37to be able to install the turbine.
15:40As Neptune approaches the jacket,
15:42dynamic positioning uses signals from satellites
15:45to establish and hold her target position to within just 50 centimeters.
15:52Constantly responding to the satellite data,
15:54Neptune's four propellers each rotate a full 360 degrees,
15:59battling currents from any direction
16:01to stabilize the 5,700-ton ship.
16:08It's a warning that the vessel was getting out of the safety range,
16:16so for that we need to keep her stabilized a little bit.
16:22Neptune creeps closer to the jacket until she's just 12 meters away.
16:27We are in position, so now the entire checking process can start.
16:32With the ship in place,
16:33it's time to lower her four enormous cylindrical legs
16:36down through the hull to the seabed.
16:39That's the job of Neptune's jacking engineer, Serge Flemings.
16:44It looks tricky. It is tricky.
16:47Neptune's four legs are now touching the seabed,
16:50but he cannot jack up the ship until he's certain the muddy bottom
16:53is solid enough to securely support Neptune's weight.
17:01He's concerned that one of the legs may be too low to support her.
17:06He's got to be careful.
17:09He's concerned that one of the legs could punch through
17:12a soft spot in the seabed,
17:14causing Neptune's 700-ton load to shift.
17:20Testing for these dangerous soft spots,
17:22he gradually eases the ship's weight onto the legs.
17:27If a punch-through happens at this stage,
17:29with Neptune still at the waterline,
17:31the ship and her legs will not be damaged.
17:34We have to be sure that we're not having a punch-through
17:37once the vessel is out of the water.
17:39If we want to have a punch-through,
17:41we want to have it when we are in the water.
17:44For an hour, Serge Flemings carefully pushes the legs down
17:48into the seafloor.
17:52Now it's time for Neptune to make the remarkable transformation
17:55from transport vessel to stable offshore construction platform.
18:00Neptune has four massive hydraulic lifters located on her corners.
18:05Four metres in diameter, these lifters clamp onto the legs
18:09and jack up Neptune until she is suspended above the water's surface.
18:14We are now jacking up to our working level,
18:1916 metres above sea level.
18:22The huge hydraulic lifters do their job smoothly,
18:25and Neptune steadily rises out of the water
18:28and above both the jacket and its sister barge.
18:33We will be positioned four metres higher than the jacket,
18:37and I think even six metres higher than the Vagant.
18:42No problems on the positioning of the lifters.
18:45And I think even six metres higher than the Vagant.
18:49No problems on the positioning system,
18:51and no problems on the jacking system.
18:54So, fingers crossed.
18:57So for the moment we are on site in position.
19:00We check the position of the crane.
19:02The centre of the crane is in the right position,
19:04and we can start installing.
19:07A gangway is moved into position,
19:09and the turbine assembly crew clambers across from the barge
19:12onto Neptune to get to work.
19:15Two crews of 14 men each work around the clock in 12-hour shifts.
19:21Site manager John Fannin is in charge of building the turbine
19:24on top of the jacket.
19:27So that should be strong enough to do what we need.
19:34Our biggest concern is the wind.
19:36We can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
19:38if the wind allows.
19:41Fannin is at the end of his two-week long rotation
19:44out here at Thornton Bank.
19:46The forecast calls for the wind to pick up,
19:48but he's hoping to build one more turbine before he goes home.
19:53We work through rain, we work through snow,
19:55but the wind, the wind is the biggest killer.
19:58A wind speed of 11 metres per second, or 40 kilometres per hour,
20:02will shut down this entire operation.
20:10Neptune's crane is swung into position
20:12and hooked into the first tower section.
20:16Working beneath the 140-ton steel cylinder,
20:19the crew moves to undo the bolts and lift the tower to the jacket.
20:34One piece in place, three more to complete the turbine.
20:38But then, what every crew member dreads,
20:41the two days of good working weather they were supposed to have,
20:45has suddenly vanished.
20:48The wind picks up,
20:50racing over the 40-kilometre-per-hour safety limit.
20:53The wind has got up now.
20:55It's outside our safe working limits.
20:57We've now shut down all operations,
20:59and the forecast is looking really bad
21:01for, like, the next two, two and a half days.
21:04So all the boys now will go on standby.
21:06It's the awful irony of this job.
21:08The North Sea is a perfect place to operate a wind farm,
21:12but the worst place to build one.
21:18In the unpredictable North Sea off the coast of Belgium,
21:21bad weather has shut down all work at the Thornton Bank wind farm.
21:28The crew was only able to install the bottom section of the turbine tower
21:32before being forced to stop.
21:36With this weather delay, Captain Frankie Pieters has no control,
21:40and Neptune begins to fall behind schedule.
21:46We are encountering pretty bad weather,
21:49quite some swell, quite heavy winds.
21:53Until now, the last weather forecast tell us
21:56that we will not be ready to work at least till Tuesday evening.
22:03That means a costly delay of more than two days.
22:07Site manager John Fannin and his crew are on hold until further notice.
22:16Unfortunately, when we have weather conditions like this,
22:19you know, you can be stuck out here for a long time.
22:21It's not very nice to be here outside waiting for a weather window.
22:25That's the most annoying part of the job.
22:33After two and a half days of idleness, there's good news for the crew.
22:38The wind has finally started to drop.
22:42It's 3.30 a.m., not an unusual time to start work
22:46when the job site operates 24 hours a day.
22:49The wind's looking really good at the moment.
22:51It's coming down. It's now going between 10s and 11s,
22:54so it's within our limits. So, yeah, we're good to go.
22:59To build the turbine, four pieces need to come together.
23:03Two tower sections, the nacelle and the rotor.
23:10When high winds stopped work, the crew had only managed
23:13to install the bottom tower of the wind turbine.
23:16From the hands-on deck to the crane operator 11 meters above,
23:20John and his team prepare to lift 100 tons into place.
23:25We're about to hook in the top tower
23:28and get it ready to lift and put on top of the bottom tower.
23:32Slowly hook it on.
23:34Neptune's crane latches on to the tower.
23:39And then the bolts come off.
23:44Yeah, it's all ready to lift now. Paraffin's released.
23:49The crew has to ensure the load doesn't swing wildly
23:53and damage the ship or other turbine parts.
23:57They've got tag lines in their hands,
24:00and they're there to steady the tower to stop it from swinging.
24:04It may sound a bit funny, it's 110 tons,
24:07but they will have some control of the tag lines.
24:10Dial the hook at the same time.
24:13Bring the hook down.
24:15Bring the hook down.
24:17Martin, slowly hook down, slowly hook down.
24:20Neptune's crane operator, Martin Wilson,
24:23is so far removed from the contact point between the tower sections,
24:27he's working practically blind
24:29and relies on directions from a crew member down on the deck.
24:33I've got to listen to the man downstairs.
24:36He's more in charge than me, really.
24:39He tells me what's what, when to stop, when to go, how far to go.
24:44You've got to be concentrating all the time. It's very demanding.
24:48And stop. A little bit more up.
24:52And stop. Awesome.
24:54The pressure that you're under driving the crane can be quite considerable.
24:58Obviously, you've got a lot of men to think about,
25:01you've got a lot of weight that you carry in.
25:04Martin, how many tons have you now?
25:06I've got 50 ton there, 50 ton.
25:09It takes the crew 15 minutes to position the top tower section
25:13over the base already secured on the jacket.
25:19Now they will lower its 100 tons, fighting the wind the whole way down.
25:24The tower is dancing around because the wind is on the limit,
25:28but the boys will get the guide pins in really soon
25:31and then they'll stitch the two flanges together.
25:35Altered together, the two tower sections stretch 68 meters high.
25:42Now the crew faces their next hurdle.
25:45The tower won't be stable until the 324-ton nacelle is installed on top.
25:51This would be a dangerous point to be shut down by the weather.
25:55We're always watching the wind, and at the moment,
25:58it's saying between 60 and 70 knots.
26:02It's saying between 7.9 and 9 meters per second,
26:07getting up to 10 meters per second.
26:09It's well within our range.
26:11The nacelle is slowly lifted off the deck.
26:15On the hook right now we have 324 metric tons.
26:19What, main shaft winch?
26:21Front winch.
26:22Yeah, front winch, take tension.
26:25Tell me when to stop.
26:27OK, they've got the guide pins out now.
26:29OK, Martin.
26:30This is the final part of the lift off the transport frame.
26:34That's a perfect lift, no problem at all for these guys.
26:38Very well done, but I won't tell them that.
26:43Suspended far above the deck,
26:45the crane's boom arm moves the 324-ton nacelle towards the tower section.
26:52It's a tense moment for the crew below.
26:56I'm concerned about the rear of the nacelle
26:58blowing back around and hitting the boom.
27:00That is a big problem if that happens.
27:02But within his cab,
27:04Wilson is keeping close watch over every shift and turn.
27:09It's a precision thing, you can't just hammer it straight down,
27:12that's the day you go.
27:1415 minutes later, and the nacelle is safely seated on the tower sections.
27:20It's been a good night, a very productive night.
27:23Some guys wouldn't actually lift with this crosswind,
27:25so a very successful night for us.
27:28They have one last piece to install, and it's the most challenging.
27:32The 138-ton rotor.
27:36They've already lost two and a half days because of high winds.
27:41But finally, they're working in perfect weather.
27:49The wind speeds right now
27:51are well below the cut-off of 11 metres per second,
27:54or 40 kilometres per hour.
27:58The crew releases the bolts holding the rotor in place,
28:01and then attaches the lifting slings to the crane hook.
28:07These guide pins inserted into the rotor
28:09will help position the entire assembly onto the nacelle.
28:17The rotor is slowly lifted into a vertical position
28:20before moving across the deck to the tower.
28:25With clear skies and low wind,
28:27the job's never going to be any easier than it is now.
28:32Eric Lathawers works for Sea Power,
28:34the company that owns the wind farm.
28:36He's making sure everything is done by the book.
28:41We have a lot of high obstacles,
28:43so it's a very, very slow operation
28:46to make sure no damage, no touching, nothing.
28:49After two hours,
28:50the day crew manages to thread the rotor into the nacelle.
28:56This is an example of the way it should be.
28:58This is what we want.
29:00Smooth operation, quick, no problems.
29:02The way it should be, yeah.
29:04This turbine assembly is complete,
29:06but it's taken two days longer than planned.
29:10It is normal that we are delayed every time a little bit
29:13because they wouldn't build a wind farm
29:15where there's no wind, of course.
29:17Hopefully we can do the other ones a little bit faster,
29:20but you can't fight the weather, of course.
29:23Neptune's work manager, Nordin Saidi Mazerou,
29:26is already weighing up the odds for the next turbine assembly.
29:31As the weather forecast looks now,
29:33we will be depending on a couple of hours
29:36to be able to put the next turbine.
29:38It sounds a little strange
29:40because you have three days to put up a turbine.
29:42Sometimes two hours can make a difference.
29:48With no time to lose,
29:50Neptune sets out for Ostend to load another turbine.
29:57Everybody is on high alert now.
29:59As soon as we arrive,
30:01Ostend will start the loadout straight away,
30:04without any delay, I hope.
30:07Back in port, the tower sections have been loaded.
30:13The rotor assembly is mid-lift,
30:15and the nacelle is next.
30:19The crew races to finish the load.
30:23As night falls,
30:25Neptune is ready to sail back out to the wind farm,
30:28ahead of schedule.
30:31The union, everybody is happy about it.
30:34It was quite good.
30:36They succeeded in the turbine assembly.
30:39There's no doubt about it.
30:44The engine is ready.
30:47We will start the turbine assembly.
30:49It was quite good.
30:51We succeeded to have the load up within 16 hours.
30:55Captain Pieters is aware that bad weather is heading towards the wind farm,
30:59but wants to push ahead with the next installation.
31:04So now we will sail straight away to the Windfield Park installation
31:10and then we're coming back to the port.
31:15Unless we have some weather changes.
31:20It's Friday the 13th, just before dawn, and Neptune has arrived on site.
31:25Not a moment too soon for works manager Saidi Mazarou.
31:31The low pressure area is coming, big waves are coming, a lot of wind is coming.
31:35So we want to finish this turbine as soon as possible.
31:38Captain Pieters maneuvers Neptune into position, but he's fighting the ocean swell.
31:44So now the current is coming from the head, pushing us astern.
31:47We need to take care that we're not coming too close to the jacket now.
31:54This is one of the most delicate part of the operations.
31:59We can have a very big interference from the swell of the water.
32:04While she's sailing, Neptune's legs extend up 80 meters above the deck.
32:10Now, as she approaches the jacket or turbine foundation,
32:14she starts to lower her legs until they're less than 5 meters above the seabed.
32:20With the big swells, this is the most vulnerable time of the entire journey for Neptune.
32:26The ocean is pitching her up and down.
32:29If the swells grow too rough, Neptune's legs could be slammed onto the ocean floor.
32:402.7 meters above the seabed.
32:42For jacking engineer Serge Vlemings and the entire crew, the stakes are high.
32:48You could damage the cylinders or break a leg.
32:51So that's why you have to be very careful.
32:54He lowers Neptune's legs firmly into the ocean floor.
32:59Now we are completely fixed on the bottom.
33:02So the platform will rise out of the water now.
33:06Bring him down, bring him down.
33:10You're alright there, we'll disconnect you.
33:13A light fog is settling over the Thornton Bank wind farm.
33:16Visibility may be low, but so is the wind.
33:22In the North Sea, that could change in a matter of hours.
33:30Good morning, gentlemen.
33:32Good morning, gentlemen.
33:33Turbine assembly supervisor Michael Wolff puts his team straight to work.
33:39The weather looks brilliant, but only for this turbine.
33:42After that we have bad weather, so that means we hope we do it in one turn.
33:48And now we can start, so rock and roll, ladies.
33:55The first tower section is unbolted and hooked up to the crane.
33:59Here's a five.
34:00The 140-ton tower is soon completely suspended in mid-air.
34:06And if anyone on the team is superstitious, no one is letting on.
34:12Friday the 13th, it's a Black Friday normally, but for our team it's no problem, we do it.
34:17Have you done it like I said?
34:19Yeah.
34:25It was a little bit of a problem to turn the tower in the right position, but it works very well.
34:30So far so good, but there's always room for worry.
34:34If something were to happen, if the turbine installation doesn't go smoothly,
34:38I will definitely miss the weather window to install the whole turbine.
34:42The storm is brewing close by.
34:44Neptune's crew has to install this turbine before it hits.
34:53Neptune is jacked up 16 meters above the North Sea.
34:57She's in the middle of installing a massive 95-meter-tall wind turbine.
35:04A storm is heading her way, and the crew is rushing to finish.
35:09Works manager Nourdin Saidi-Mazourou and captain Frankie Peters pour over the latest forecast.
35:17It's not good news.
35:20The storm front looks a bit harsh.
35:24The two lower pressure areas from east and west are pulling away the high pressure,
35:29so we have a very bad situation over there.
35:32If we can finish the loadout by tomorrow morning, we are quite lucky.
35:36You have still the window.
35:39You're welcome.
35:44The team is now ready to lift the second tower section into place,
35:48but there's a problem up in the crane cab.
35:55That's strange. Everything's on up there.
36:02Something down last week was on, actually.
36:07Crane operator Ray Robley calls the ship's electrician,
36:10second engineer Jan Willem van der Bos.
36:14Any ideas?
36:17He's coming up.
36:19With the storm only 14 hours away, all this precious good weather is going to waste.
36:25We've got a window with the wind now, so obviously they're keen to crack on,
36:28so hopefully we'll get it sorted within a few minutes.
36:32But as the crane sits idle, stress levels begin to climb.
36:36I'm feeling a little nervous,
36:38because I really want this turbine to be completed in one setting,
36:42to be able to sail back to the port prior to the bad weather coming up.
36:46Jan Willem van der Bos climbs up to the crane cab to sort out the delay.
36:52Reset. Power reset. System on.
36:59They find a problem with the power source between the engine room and the crane
37:03and order a reset.
37:07Hello?
37:08Peter, can you switch it off?
37:10Yeah, OK.
37:12Now the crane has been down for almost 45 minutes.
37:16More valuable working weather is being lost.
37:19OK.
37:20Do you see it?
37:23Yeah, it's working, it's working.
37:25Bingo, we're back in business.
37:28The fuse of the brake inverter was blown,
37:31so we replaced the fuse and now it's working again.
37:35It takes time.
37:38A simple fuse brought a mega-million-dollar project to a standstill
37:42in the teeth of an oncoming storm.
37:46The second tower section is hooked up and moved to the jacket.
37:53Once the two tower sections are joined,
37:55the crew immediately bolts them together.
37:59On the deck, the nacelle is prepared for lifting.
38:05Turbine Assembly Supervisor Michael Wolff
38:08knows this 324-ton engine room is vulnerable to even the slightest breeze.
38:15We have a little bit more square meters than a tower,
38:18and if you have wind, the wind works with the square meters.
38:23Carefully drifted over the top tower section,
38:26the nacelle is lowered into place.
38:30And all that's left is the rotor assembly.
38:33I'm happy. We are at two tower sections and the nacelle.
38:39Evening falls, and the next shift takes over.
38:43The crew is ready for the next shift.
38:47Evening falls, and the next shift takes over.
38:51On deck, Site Manager Burkhard Maas is briefing his team.
38:56They need 10 hours of good weather to install the rotor.
39:00We expect a wind speed between 6 and 9 meters.
39:03It's okay for us.
39:05Do it smooth and safe, like every time.
39:10Good luck, guys.
39:12The rotor is lifted from its cradle,
39:14and the crew cleans and preps the mating surface.
39:21Putting these turbines together never gets dull for Burkhard Maas.
39:26It's really the greatest turbine that we have in the world.
39:31The dimensions and also the weight from the turbine,
39:34the energy output, of course, is also one of the biggest.
39:38It's a turbine like a big mama.
39:45The rotor assembly is now dangling mid-lift.
39:48It's the last component for completing this wind turbine.
39:53When you are turning to the right, then please do it slowly, yeah?
39:58The massive rotor assembly is being moved towards the nacelle
40:01under the watchful eye of the crew.
40:05It's a critical time because you have to find the right holes in the top, yeah?
40:14We said it's like a wedding, yeah, between the rotor and the nacelle, yeah?
40:19And we are just short before to finish that critical phase.
40:23The rotor is in place.
40:25Neptune has successfully put together her latest wind turbine.
40:33The sound of a rattle gun is for us like a wedding bell, yeah,
40:38and a party moment.
40:40There's music to my ears, yeah?
40:42And also for the guys, it's every time a big moment for us.
40:48Dawn breaks over the Thornton Bank wind farm.
40:53Neptune is getting ready to sail back to port.
40:58And not a moment too soon.
41:00The wind is already beginning to pick up.
41:03We are very lucky that we were able to finalise this installation of the windmill.
41:09For the moment there's already a few vessels delayed by the weather.
41:14So I think we can be lucky that we just had the bad weather.
41:19It will get worse in the afternoon, but we are ready.
41:22We managed to finish on time.
41:24We have a sufficient weather window to get back in the port
41:27before the wind is really picking up.
41:30Lowering down 16 metres, Neptune morphs back into a sea-going vessel.
41:36That's us lowering the vessel at the moment.
41:39We are almost touching water.
41:43We are getting out here right on time before the storm hits us.
41:53We are ahead of the schedule.
41:55Yes, I'm a very happy man now.
41:58Entering the port of Ostend without a 700-tonne wind turbine on deck
42:02makes the captain's job a lot simpler.
42:06We are only 38 metres wide, so a lot more space than when we are sailing out loaded.
42:13It's a bit easier to get through the narrow channel.
42:17I think we can say it's a quite successful service.
42:22Neptune returns to port.
42:24And then the bad weather finally hits,
42:27keeping her stuck in Ostend for the next two weeks.
42:31It's calculated that we will have some weather delay,
42:33but it's always nice to keep something going.
42:38As a brand-new jack-up vessel, Neptune has performed exactly as designed,
42:43taking on the full force of the turbulent North Sea.
42:49It's an amazing vessel. It's a delight to work with.
42:52The work for me and for Neptune, myself and the crew, is never done.
42:58She has successfully installed seven wind turbines,
43:0123 more to go in this phase of the project.
43:05Four more months lie ahead,
43:07fighting rough weather and tight schedules
43:10to build the biggest, most powerful wind turbines on the planet.
43:15If any ship can finish the job on time,
43:17it's the indomitable jack-up vessel Neptune.
43:27NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology