BigRoll Biscay is new Module Carrier in the fleet

After the extension of their land activities into Asia in 2019, Roll Group starts 2020 in a similar manner with the addition of another Module Carrier into their fleet. Yesterday, on 6th January 2020, Roll Group officially took ownership of an additional vessel from the market. With a length of 146m, a width of 32m and 12,285t deadweight, this Module Carrier is slightly smaller than the current Module Carriers in the fleet – BigRoll Bering and BigRoll Beaufort – but has a wider deck space than the RollDock dock type vessels.

The newly acquired vessel was originally built in 2015, and will soon be painted in Roll Group livery and renamed as BigRoll Biscay. The vessel will perfectly integrate into the existing fleet and underlines the strategy of Roll Group to grow as the provider of choice offering a unique land/sea combination with the ability to serve our clients in the best possible way. Adriaan Aarts, Roll Group CEO commented: “We are convinced this is a good investment considering the improving outlook for the years ahead. We expect many developments in the near future and have identified a need for additional tonnage to serve our clients in the Oil & Gas and Offshore Wind markets. Our current Module Carriers are perfectly suited to serve these markets but given the large scale of some of the upcoming projects, further expansion of our fleet is necessary. The acquisition of the BigRoll Biscay is the next step in the development strategy of Roll Group.’’

Although this new vessel is a little smaller in length than the first two BigRoll ships, it has many similarities. The flush cargo deck of the BigRoll Biscay measures an impressive 123.8 x 32.2 m, compared to 125 x 42 m on the BigRoll Bering and Beaufort. The overall deck load capacity of all Module Carriers is 20 mt/m2. The BigRoll Biscay isn’t ice class certified – but in contrast, the Biscay does have DP2. Peter Rondhuis, Roll Group CCO stated: “This new vessel will enable us to serve clients that require DP capabilities for their projects and also provides more flexibility and back-up for our existing fleet. Our existing Module Carriers are DP ready and can be upgraded to full DP if so required.” In the coming years Roll Group intends to further expand its fleet and heavy lift equipment as well as strengthen its organisation with carefully selected partnerships in order to handle larger scale projects.”