Bibby Marine Services has ordered a new walk-to-work service operation vessel (SOV) for the offshore wind market and has already secured a charter for the ship from Siemens Gamesa.
Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania – the same yard which built the Bibby Wavemaster 1 SOV in 2016 – has started work on the vessel, which will be delivered in mid-2019, Bibby said.
The unnamed vessel will be used to service Siemens Gamesa turbines at EnBW’s 497MW Hohe See and 119MW Albatros projects in the German North Sea.
It will work out of a Siemens Gamesa offshore service facility at the German port of Emden. The length of the charter was not disclosed.
Bibby managing director Stephen Bolton said: “Obtaining a long-term contract was always our goal and this has taken a lot of hard work within Bibby and our key suppliers.”
The vessel will utilise the same design as Wavemaster 1, featuring a stepless gangway and a 3D motion compensated crane system from SMST that will allow turbine transfers in 2.5-metre wave heights.
Dutch Bank ABN AMRO financed the new vessel build, Bibby said.
Siemens Gamesa said the 150-km distance-to-shore from Hohe See and Albatros led them to enter the market for a new ship.
Siemens Gamesa head of maritime solutions Rene Cornelis Wigmans said: “The new SOV allows us to optimise logistics and workflows, and drive efficiencies to meet our cost-out targets in offshore wind services.”
Wavemaster 1 completed work at Innogy’s 353MW Galloper wind farm off Suffolk in England last year and is now working on a North Sea oil and gas job for Total E&P Nederland.
Image: Bibby Marine Services
Bibby orders new SOV
By EBS