A HUGE six-legged vessel was spotted off the coast of Llandudno this week.

Since Monday night, the MPI Adventure has set up station around 8km north east of the town, while it services the Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm during the day.

The 455ft-long ship is a jack-up barge, usually used for installing wind turbines, and is carrying out routine turbine maintenance at the wind farm, site operator RWE said.

Several pictures of the ship circulated on social media, showing it suspended by six 240ft legs, as well as a smaller wind farm support vessel, the NSL Adventurer.

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The MPI Adventure operates in waters up to 130ft deep, with legs sinking 16ft into the seabed - once jacked up, the ship can be raised more than 25ft above the surface.

The ship was built in China in 2010 and now sails under a Dutch flag.

Fitted with three cranes, the vessel weighs a whopping 14,739 tonnes, with its legs the most distinctive features.

The MPI Adventure can withstand 32ft waves, 70-knot winds and 4.3-knot currents, and resembles an oil or gas rig from a distance.