The offshore jack-up has a hull and a plurality of moveable legs engageable with the seafloor. The offshore jack-up is arranged to move the legs with respect to the hull to position the hull out of the water. The method comprises moving at least a portion of a vessel underneath the hull of the offshore jack-up or within a cut-out of the hull when the hull is positioned out of the water and the legs engage the seafloor. A stabilizing mechanism mounted on the jack-up is engaged against the vessel. The stabilizing mechanism is pushed down on the vessel to increase the buoyant force acting on the vessel.

A vessel and a method for installation of a pile adapted to support an offshore wind turbine are described. The method includes a) suspending the pile from a hoisting cable in a substantially vertical orientation; b) providing a lower end of the pile in a pile holding system limiting horizontal motion of a pile portion held by the pile holding system; and c) lowering the pile with the pile being held by the pile holding system. The lowering includes at least lowering the pile through a splash zone of a body of water, and during step c), two tugger lines are directly or indirectly connected to the pile at a location between the pile holding system and the hoisting cable, said tugger lines being operated to damp motion of the pile in two respective horizontal directions.

An offshore platform embarkation facility and an offshore platform, including a lift tower, wherein the lift tower is provided with a climbing device and the lift tower is provided with a transmission structure; a jacking frame, wherein a first moon pool allowing the lift tower to pass through is provided in the jacking frame; a lifting unit, wherein the lifting unit is installed on the jacking frame and the lifting unit is configured to cooperate with the transmission structure to raise and lower the lift tower; a lift platform, wherein a second moon pool allowing the lift tower to pass through is provided in the lift platform, and the lift platform is connected with the lift tower via the climbing device, and the lift platform is located below the jacking frame. When it is needed to load or unload personnel or goods, it is not required to lower the entire offshore platform to the height of the sea surface to enable a ship to be anchored, anchorage of ships and loading or unloading of personnel and goods can be quickly completed simply by means of the offshore platform embarkation facility, which saves energy consumption and time, improves the work efficiency and increases the service life of the offshore platform.

A jack-up platform is described having a horizontal working deck that may be jacked up out of the water by moving its legs to a position wherein they take support on an underwater bottom. The jack-up platform further includes a higher level deck and a lower level deck that define a receiving space for a barge, optionally suitable for carrying parts for construction of a wind turbine, and further a deballasting system configured to bring the floating hull between a receiving position at which the hull is ballasted to a receiving draft in which the lower level deck is submerged underwater and the barge may be received in the receiving space through an opening in the hull, and an operational smaller draft where substantially no water can flow on either of the lower and higher level decks. The receiving space has a centralizing system configured to substantially centralize the received floating barge in the receiving space. A method for facilitating the offshore installation of a wind turbine using the jack-up platform is also described.

Drilling installation comprising a cantilever with a drilling floor for performing drilling operations; further comprising an independent operations handling system arranged for handling equipment underneath the drilling floor independent of the drilling operations on the drilling floor, wherein the independent operations handling system comprises a handling element for cooperation with the equipment to be handled, wherein the handling element is extendible underneath the cantilever.

The offshore jack-up has a hull and a plurality of moveable legs engageable with the seafloor. The offshore jack-up is arranged to move the legs with respect to the hull to position the hull out of the water. The method comprises securing the vessel with respect to the hull of the offshore jack-up when the hull is positioned out of the water and the legs engage the seafloor. A lifting mechanism mounted on the offshore jack-up engages with a cargo carrying platform positioned on the vessel. The platform is lifted with the lifting mechanism between a first position on the vessel and a second position clear of the vessel.

An installation arrangement with a barge and a jack-up rig which floats in a first position on the sea and has a hull which is slotted vertically from the surface of the sea and has a slot width which is greater than that of the barge so that the barge can move into a slot, wherein the jack-up rig has supporting legs which can move to and from along a height relative to the hull and can be set down on the seabed. The hull and the barge can be lifted along the support legs. The slot extends along the entire longitudinal extent of the barge over the entire height of the hull, and securing means are arranged on the barge and on the slot and said securing means interact and secure the barge in the raised position in a fixed position on the jack-up rig.

Drilling installation comprising a cantilever with a drilling floor for performing drilling operations; further comprising an independent operations handling system arranged for handling equipment underneath the drilling floor independent of the drilling operations on the drilling floor, wherein the independent operations handling system comprises a handling element for cooperation with the equipment to be handled, wherein the handling element is extendible underneath the cantilever.

An installation arrangement with a barge and a jack-up rig which floats in a first position on the sea and has a hull which is slotted vertically from the surface of the sea and has a slot width which is greater than that of the barge so that the barge can move into a slot, wherein the jack-up rig has supporting legs which can move to and from along a height relative to the hull and can be set down on the seabed. The hull and the barge can be lifted along the support legs. The slot extends along the entire longitudinal extent of the barge over the entire height of the hull, and securing means are arranged on the barge and on the slot and said securing means interact and secure the barge in the raised position in a fixed position on the jack-up rig.

Described is a vessel and device for upending an elongate element from a deck of the vessel using a lifting means. A number of support structures, mutually coupled and running parallel to each other, for supporting an elongate element in lying position can be displaced collectively, parallel to the deck, relative to the position of the lifting means by displacing means provided for this purpose. A support structure of the device includes an upending tool which is connected for pivoting around an axis running parallel to an edge of the vessel to the relevant support structure and is configured to support an elongate element received in the support structure when this element is upended with the lifting means, wherein the upending tool is rotated around the axis. With the device elongate elements can be moved within reach of a lifting means.