DEME has launched its first service operation vessel (SOV) Groene Wind at the CEMRE shipyard in Yalova, Turkey.
The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) vessel, due for delivery in 2021, will be directly chartered to Siemens Gamesa for the maintenance of Otary’s 209MW Rentel and 487MW SeaMade offshore wind farms in Belgium.
DEME said Greone Wind is the first DP2 twin-hulled SOV in the world and the first to serve three different wind farm sites.
The company’s in-house team worked with Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam and research institute MARIN, to “significantly improve” safety, comfort and workability for wind farm technicians in the new vessel.
The SWATH design ensures low wave impact on movements when approaching wind turbines, compared with a traditional monohull SOV, DEME added.
The design will enable safe crew transfers in “significant” wave heights.
The DP2 technology will allow the vessel to hold its position in rough seas but at the same time operate with lower fuel consumption when compared to traditional SOVs, DEME said, potentially achieving 50% reductions in fuel consumption.
Other environmental features and include a waste heat recovery system.
At 60 metres in length, the SOV will be equipped with a motion compensated gangway and daughter craft to safely transfer technicians to the wind turbines. It can act as a base for up to 24 technicians and a nautical crew.
DEME Offshore business unit director Michael Glavind said: “This further boosts our ability to serve the growing offshore wind industry, throughout the entire lifetime of an offshore wind farm.
“We are delighted to take this important step together with our partner Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, which also shares our ambitions for the energy transition.”
Siemens Gamesa head of offshore service logistics Rene Wigmans said: “Siemens Gamesa is dedicated to finding flexible and competitive solutions.
“The Rentel and SeaMade wind farms make up the largest wind power installation in Belgium and with DEME’s first ever SOV ‘Groene Wind’ we will be able to provide further optimised and safe maintenance solutions.”