Louis Dreyfus Armateurs’ subsidiary LD Tide has won a contract to supply a crew transfer vessel for the French offshore wind project Îles d’Yeu and Noirmoutier.
LD Tide will supply the 24-passenger vessel for operations and maintenance services at the Eoliennes en Mer des Îles d’Yeu et de Noirmoutier (EMYN) project.
The 488MW offshore wind farm is being developed by a consortium led by Ocean Winds.
Siemens Gamesa, the turbine supplier for the project, selected LD Tide – a joint venture between LDA and Tidal Transit – to provide the vessel after putting out an international call for tenders.
The new StratCat 27 vessel (pictured) is scheduled to start operations midway through the year.
LD Tide will operate the vessel to ensure the safe transfer of maintenance technicians to the EMYN offshore wind farm.
The contract is the second to be awarded to LD Tide by Siemens Gamesa, with the first crew transfer vessel, named Acti’vent, operating at the Fécamp Offshore Wind Farm from October 2023.
The latest StratCat 27 vessel is one of two CTVs currently being built by Strategic Marine, a specialist aluminium shipbuilder based in Singapore.
Earlier this year, LD Tide placed an order for two CTVs to anticipate the growing demand of the rapidly evolving French offshore wind sector.
LD Tide says the StratCat 27 model is known for its high-specification design, accommodating 24 passengers and three crew members.
This design prioritises safety while also providing high performance and comfort on board, along with a robust and reliable platform, making it well-suited for demanding offshore operations, the company said.
The vessel will be manned by a French crew.
“We are very pleased to strengthen our collaboration with Siemens Gamesa, a market leader in the renewable energy field,” said Louis Dreyfus Armateurs’ renewables managing director Gaël Cailleaux.
“We are expanding our presence in the French maritime industrial sector dedicated to offshore wind.”
With 61 wind turbines, each rated at 8MW, the EMYN offshore wind farm will have a total installed capacity of 488MW, generating 1900GWh per year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 800,000 people.